Cricket supreme Arjuna Ranatunga's surprise announcement that he is to retire from the game has sent Sri Lanka's parliamentarians into a spin amid reports that he may enter the political fray.
Family friends said that 36-year-old Ranatunga may take a short break from public life at the end of the ongoing three-Test series against the visiting South Africans and would then enter the political arena.
"He is well placed to become a good politician because he has moved with a wide cross section of society," a close family friend said of Ranatunga on Friday, a day after his announcement to leave the international cricket scene.
Rumors of Ranatunga's political ambitions have been fuelled by his appearance at the launch of a new nationalist party, the Sihala Urumaya, or Sinhalese Heritage, in April.
The Sihala Urumaya Friday welcomed Ranatunga's decision to retire and said they were waiting with "open arms" to welcome him into the party.
Many believe he will probably contest the parliamentary elections which are due before November 9.
Close associates said Ranatunga's decision to quit was also fuelled by being dropped from the one-day international squad.
"The selectors have been making a distinction between older players and the younger ones," a close friend said.
In a letter to the cricket board in which his elder brother Dhammika is the chief executive officer, Ranatunga said his decision to retire had been a difficult one -- (AFP)
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