Late Gamini Dissanayake was a godsend to cricket. While he did a lot of things off the field to develop the game, something that he was very good at was grooming youngsters to become leaders. One of the leaders he handpicked in the early 1980s was Ranjan Madugalle.
Ranjan was made for leadership and when the time came for Duleep Mendis to step down, he was up to the challenge. He took to captaincy like a duck to water, immensely popular among the establishment and players.
Ranjan was an attractive batsman, possessing some glorious strokes. But more than his elegant batting, it was his leadership that was vital for Sri Lankan cricket during their formative days. Intelligent, calm, articulate and an eye to spot talent, Ranjan had all the ingredients to be a great leader.
But cricket in 1980s didn’t earn you a living. So he quit at the tender age of 29. Many felt that Sri Lankan cricket had been thrown to the wolves as his successor, a certain Arjuna Ranatunga was just 24. But Ranjan knew that Sri Lankan cricket was in good hands as Arjuna was another leader groomed by Gamini Dissanayake.
Post retirement, since his involvement with ICC 28 years ago, the contributions he has made to Sri Lankan cricket is not much. Despite not showing his alliance to any of the power bases in cricket, Ranjan was surprisingly pulled out from the Match Referee’s role in 2001 on some flimsy reasons. This was at a time when the home board nominated their Match Referees to the ICC.
When he was out of a job, Ranjan got involved in commentary. He was a massive hit. But his role as an expert commentator lasted for less than six months as the ICC got match officials under their umbrella. In late 2001, when Malcolm Speed was the CEO of ICC, five former players were contracted as Match Referees. There were some high profile names like Clive Lloyd, Mike Procter but Ranjan was chosen as the Chief Match Referee.
Since then, he’s been given all the high profile assignments. Some tricky and sensitive cases in cricket involving powerful nations have been placed at his doorstep. On every occasion, he has come off with flying colours earning the respect of peers, players and the entire cricket establishment.
Ranjan has his unique ways of dealing with things. Most players and coaches consider him a friend. But if you cross the line on the field, he will call you for a chat, smile, have coffee, ask for your dinner plans and before you know it, he would have fined you half of your match fee.
Although he may have fined hundreds of players and suspended many, you don’t find a single player even after retirement coming forward to vent his anger. Players nowadays have larger voices thanks to their active involvement in social media but never do you find Ranjan’s sanctions coming under the microscope. That’s because he is fair and even when he penalizes someone, he does so in his own charming manner.
Ranjan stands tall as an untainted public figure. Such is his integrity, after all these years, he is yet to be dragged into any controversy. His good name has never been sullied.
Ranjan maintains a low profile. You will never see him in public gatherings. He is not on social media and hardly interacts with those who call the shots be it at SLC or his beloved NCC. But despite all that, if you had met him once, he would remember your face and name.
He will interact with journalists; friendly, sharing his ideas; be it some burning issues in the sport or some of the incidents of the past. But if you ever think you can get a story out of the man, you are badly mistaken.
So what can young players learn from Ranjan. Once you are a public figure, you are in the spotlight and your conduct needs to be above board as a lot is expected of you. Modern day sportsmen are ambassadors of their country with the game being followed by millions on television.
With the advent of social media, sports persons are scrutinized more than ever before. If you play the game well, you are appreciated but if you do not conduct yourself well your sporting skills count for little.
It is also important for all those who are involved in the game, not just young players but even seasoned administrators to keep up with the developments of the game. Ranjan does this so well not just by looking at cricket but other sports as well; how technology has been used, how sports medicine is evolving, what new developments are taking place as sports continue to go ahead in these challenging times.
All in all, Ranjan is a role model for all of us who are engaged in sports. We have much to learn from him.
