Sri Lanka’s World Cup winning captain made these remarks when he met with Sobers at his Ministry auditorium yesterday. A felicitation ceremony was held to appreciate Sir Garfield Sobers’ service to the development of Sri Lankan cricket. Ranatunga claimed that Sobers has been a unique coach to Sri Lankan cricket.

“Sir Sobers has been a very special character in my cricketing career. Before the 1993 Australian tour I was not included in the side. But Sir Sobers who came as the coach of the Lankan team, requested the selection committee to include me in the national side. It is after that I was able to secure a permanent place in the national side. Sobers’ guidance and instructions have helped me a lot. So after 30 years when he return to Sri Lanka I am very pleased to meet him,” said Ranatunga.

Addressing the gathering, Sobers predicted that Sri Lankan cricket will have a great time in time to come.

“When I was invited to come to Sri Lanka as a coach by late Gamini Dissanayake, I was in Australia. It was also after little while Sri Lanka gained Test status. But there were talented cricketers in Sri Lanka. So I accepted the invitation. My first job was to train Sri Lankan players to face fast bowlers and prepare their minds to face pace bowlers, because at that time there were very good fast bowlers in the world. Then I focused on their technical aspects. There were talented players in Sri Lanka at that time and I hope Sri Lanka will produce talented players in future as well,” Sir Sobers stated.

Minister Ranatunga also presented a memento to Sir Garfield Sobers during the ceremony. Ports and Aviation Ministry secretary L. P Jayampathi, Sri Lanka Ports Authority Chairman Dhammika Ranatunga, former Test cricketers Pramodya Wickremasinghe and Ravindra Pushpakumara were also present at the occasion.

The greatest all-rounder in world cricket, made these observations during a felicitation ceremony organised by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and held at the Hotel Taj Samudra in Colombo yesterday.

“The Twenty20 format has taken a heavy toll on the West Indies cricket as well as some of the other teams in the world and because of this some top players have even forgotten their own country” revealed Sobers.

“I don’t think that Twenty 20 cricket will run away but I think Test cricket is the ultimate for any player. If you are a cricketer that is the kind of cricket you would like to play. There is a lot of money involved in world cricket today. But I have always played for the West Indies team. It was such a pleasure and joy to be able to do what I did. Records make nothing. The team was more important for me. But I don’t think we have that today” added Sobers.

Sobers further noted that he was amazed with the kind of improvement the Sri Lanka cricket team has achieved during the last few years in all formats of the game.

Sobers who had the opportunity of coaching the Sri Lanka team for the 1983 World Cup in England, believed that that the team had the potential to go the distance and 13 years later they were able to emerge as World Champions.

I was really proud when Sri Lanka won the World Cup in 1996 and and I was pleased with the kind of performance of the players spearheaded by Arjuna Ranatunga who for me was a player with a great amount of talent and potential.

Sobers is no stranger to Sri Lanka as he was the coach of the Sri Lanka team in 1982 and is considered as the greatest all-rounder the game has ever produced.

Michael Tissera played in the inaugural 1975 World Cup which was called the Prudential World Cup in England. He has the honour of being the only Sri Lankan captain to beat India on Indian soil in an unofficial Test in 1964.