Sri Lankan cricket legend Arjuna Ranatunga quits United National Party

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Former Sri Lankan minister and legendary cricketer Arjuna Ranatunga has resigned from the Opposition United National Party, citing dissatisfaction with the outfit's workings.

In a letter to UNP leader and former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday, Ranatunga said the UNP has not managed to revive and rebrand itself after the recent electoral losses, which led him to resign.

The UNP formed in 1946, suffered its worst electoral defeat in the last parliamentary election held in August 2020, where it failed to win a single seat.

Ranatunga, 57, held a ministerial position in the previous government led by the UNP between 2015 and 2019.

Ranatunga joined the UNP against family tradition. His father Reggie Ranatunga was a minister in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).

After retirement from cricket in 2000, Ranatunga entered politics in 2001 as a member of the SLFP.

His younger brother Prasanna is the current Minister of Tourism in the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Ranatunga has switched between political parties and administrative roles in Sri Lankan Cricket often since 2001. 

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