Marvelous Madugalle completes 200 Test matches

Rex Clementine in Galle

The International Cricket Council and Sri Lanka Cricket yesterday felicitated Ranjan Madugalle, who was officiating in his 200th Test match.

Madugalle, a former Test captain, was employed at Ceylon Tobacco Company when ICC called him in 1993. Since then, he has become the governing body’s most trusted employee having served them for nearly three decades.

It is said that Madugalle has only friends and no enemies in cricket. Even when he suspends someone, he says that with a smile on his face.

He is ICC’s man for a crisis and all high profile series be it India versus Pakistan, India versus Australia or the Ashes are assigned to him. Of course, all ICC finals are his private property provided Sri Lanka aren’t involved in the final. That’s how much his bosses in Dubai trust him.

A friendly man, if you meet Madugalle just once, there is a good chance that he will remember your name.

Reporters often pick his brains on some tricky subjects in the game. But if you think you can get a story out of him, you are badly mistaken. It is easier to make Ranil Wickremesinghe smile than to get a quote out of Madugalle.

The last interview that Madugalle did was with Mohammad Isam of Bangladesh. That was ten years ago. Why would he give an interview to a Bangladeshi journalist you may wonder. That’s because Madugalle can predict the future. Ten years later, the Sri Lankan government took a loan from Bangladesh. We at The Island sports desk keep asking Madugalle in Sinhala, ‘ai api kaluda’.

When certain SLC officials wanted to take on India, Madugalle warned them whatever you do, never cross Srinivasan’s path. This was some 15 years ago when Srinivasan was a nobody. He was just an official at Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. SLC boys didn’t listen and were taught a bitter lesson. Madugalle is ahead of his times and he knew what kind of beast we were going to deal with.

The ICC paid him a rich tribute yesterday. The best complement came from former New Zealand captain and Ranjan’s colleague at the ICC Jeff Crowe.

 ‘It is difficult just to think of 200 Test matches against your name, let alone be on-duty for all those days and years over four decades. It is an astonishing statistic to be in office and reflects his passion for cricket. Ranjan is a Five Star General when it comes to serving the game.