Arjuna Ranatunga reveals leading Sri Lanka like school principal in 1996 World Cup

The 1996 World Cup was the third time a sub-continent team won the tournament in the past four editions, with Indian winning in 1983 and Pakistan winning in 1992

Former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga revealed that he led his like a school principal in their World Cup success in 1996. Sri Lanka, out of all odds defeated heavyweights Australia in the World Cup final at Lahore. Ranatunga played 93 Test’s and 269 ODI’s in a career spanning 18 years. “I led the team like a school principal. I would order my players to get back to their rooms at 10pm, even if they couldn’t get sleep early. We were stationed in Colombo, and I got these people from different backgrounds to eat, drink and sleep the World Cup,” reported News18.com. ALSO READ: Arjuna Ranatunga slams Sri Lanka Cricket administration

“I still remember every ball we bowled and every run we scored in the final match against Australia in Lahore. We entered the World Cup with abundant energy and hope. We were very confident. We were not afraid of anyone or any team in the world. Be it Australia or West Indies. I told my teammates that we will win if we have confidence in ourselves. I asked the team to focus on just playing and leave everything else to me,” he said.

This was the first win for Sri Lanka in an major ICC tournament. The 1996 World Cup was the third time a sub-continent team won the tournament in the past four editions, with Indian winning in 1983 and Pakistan winning in 1992. Ranatunga said the World Cup win changed everything for the country’s cricket. “That victory firmly put us on the world map of cricket as a formidable team. After that, in the last 20 years, Sri Lankan team has had several big successes to its credit,” he said.

He also revealed he picked players who would give their 100% and not the star players. “It was the most cohesive team in the history of Sri Lankan cricket. I always wanted to pick 14 good cricketers who would give their lives to the country. Other than Aravinda de Silva we didn’t have any stars. The World Cup win didn’t happen overnight. We planned to get into the semi-finals, and that began a year and a half earlier. I asked my players if they wanted to win. Two players laughed. I only picked committed players. I probably didn’t pick the best players. We didn’t care about the money. We gathered around de Silva. I always looked to keep him happy. He’s tough to keep happy,” he said.