Former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga says it would be difficult for cricket to get rid of corruption as long as 'money-minded' officials administer it.

Money-minded administrators are a problem: Arjuna Ranatunga

Former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga says it would be difficult for cricket to get rid of corruption as long as 'money-minded' officials administer it.

Ranatunga said the International Cricket Council (ICC) must take ownership to clean up the mess from spot-fixing gate and also questioned Indian Premier League's (IPL) decision to form its own anti-corruption unit, calling the league as an 'ideal platform' for bookies.

"Corruption has been active in cricket for a while. Administrators are also directly responsible for birth of bookies. You can ban players, and erase their records, but it won't stem corruption," he rued.

Yesterday, there were cries from Australia and England over ICC's inability to control the extent of corruption in the game. Ranatunga feels officers of ACSU must have the say-so to go undercover.
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"If a journalist could go undercover and get to the bottom of the matter, why not ICC officials? Fans and sponsors could start to walk away, and the game could lose its value," he said.

Ranatunga wants ICC to be instilled with more powers.

"It needs to work with governments, police forces, detectives and investigative agencies to deal with this crime.

"ICC is an independent body that is sitting back and waiting for players to reveal getting approached. If these allegations are true, how can ACSU justify Pakistan players fixing matches in the last one year? ICC must to protect its image, and save cricket," a dejected Ranatunga said.

Ranatunga, who was also accused of match-fixing during his career, said fixing stems from mentality of
administrators.

"They are treating cricket as a business, not a sport. This has created a lot of greed among youngsters, who are falling to the traps. This is not just the work of bookmakers, but organised crime that cannot be stopped easily.

"During my playing days, a young cricketer would go through any sort of pain just to represent the country.

"Then, even the administrators were lovers of the game, and used to protect its image. These days, the men who run cricket are bringing shame to it. Look at Lalit Modi. He has been pressed with so many charges of corruption."

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