With thanks to The island

In Sri Lanka, almost all social institutions have been politicised. The government service is one clear example. The most important thing is that such politicisation does not do anything good for the institution.

Such institutions, when politicised, become space for politicians who are involved in party politics.

The ruling party tends to abuse the institution while the opposition camp goes on criticising. It vice versa when the opposition comes into power.

The general opinion of the masses is that when any social institution becomes overtly politicised, it tends to serve only a section or those who are in power. It can't by any means perform the job it is obliged to do.

Examples are galore. Take the case of a place like the Registrar of Motor Vehicles some years back, or the Passport Office for that matter some days ago. There is hardly anyone who believed that a proper job was done by those institutions.

Such places had indirectly become systematically constituted institutions to take commissions and bribes, nakedly violating law and order, taking care of your cronies and political party members, and at the end of the day, to do the least of what you're are required to do. When any government department or office reaches this level of deterioration, the public loses all faith in such institutions.

Therefore, when Ranatunga says "cricket is politicised and never allow current players to be used in such a politicised cricket set up," it rings true.

Sports also is yet another social institution like politics, the arts, education, the judiciary and medicine. It is difficult to draw a line that demarcates cricket from other such institutions and make it superior than the others.

One might argue that a game like cricket is exceptional as there is a single unit, a team, that represents the country. Hence, cricket and any National sport is different from some other sphers such as the arts or education.

But cricketers also could be actively in politics. And if one does so for a good purpose, then nobody could find fault with it.

Laxman Kadirgamar, being a top internationally recognised lawyer, got into politics and represented one party during a volatile political set up. Yet, he emerged a politician apart!