Ian Chappel’s statement and Arjuna’s consent

“It was ridiculous, it was disgraceful…and ICC have got to ask some questions”
Those were the exact conclusive words Ian Chappel used in the CricInfo talk soon after the match against the Aussies couple of days ago. Chappel’s 3 and half-minute talk clearly show his anger and disappointment on the nifty insult made by Sri Lanka. But what’s more concerning is what he said last. What right ICC really have to question SL? ICC was ok with the initial 15 men squad, which SL chose for the WC. That directly implies that ICC accepts that those 15 men have the ability and skill to compete in top tier cricket like WC. Selecting which 11 players to play in a particular match is solely at coach’s and captain’s hands. Depending on the opposition and ground conditions, they can pick any 11 players from the given squad. Legally and ethically, ICC has absolutely no right to question that right. Hiding his embarrassment, what Chappel was trying to do was to inject a match-fixing scenario and cause a problem. Chappel also re-emphasized this idea of his in an overseas TV programme, which also included Arjuna Ranatunga. The most surprising thing is that Arjuna too agreed with Chappel on his point. The SL selection committee president Asantha De Mel was present on an interview with Premasara Epasinghe today on ITN in SL, and he showed his sarcasm and criticism on Arjuna’s and Chappel’s comments. In addition, a lot of local cricketing personnel have shown their disgust on these comments. Arjuna does come up with surprising comments from time to time, and this is not the first time. However, we all know Chappel is a chauvinist and statements such as these should not be seriously conceived by the cricket loving community in SL.