Shane Warne and Arjuna Ranatunga shared a rivalry between themselves and they never held back whenever they got the chance.
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Arjuna Ranatunga and Shane Warne are two greats of the game, but they have a really bad history and relation. In 1996, World Cup final, Ranatunga owned Shane Warne and he hit the winning runs of the game. ‘Ranatunga owns Warne’ was at an all-time high after the world cup final. In 1999, Shane Warne was asked about Arjuna and he didn’t hold back at all about his emotions.
“There is plenty of animosity between Arjuna and myself. I don’t like him, and I’m not in a club of one,” Warne told times. After six years, Arjuna Ranatunga called him an “overrated bowler”.
Shane Warne and Arjuna Ranatunga heated again in 2004
The things between them got heated once again in 2004. Shane Warne missed the 2003 World Cup after he failed the drug test. Warne was tested positive in taking drugs hydrochlorothiazide and amiloride, both diuretics. These are normally used to aid temporary weight loss and can act as a masking agent to enhance performance. Warne said that his mother gave him by mistake.
Warne was banned from international cricket for one year, and then in 2004, he made his return. While touring Sri Lanka, Warne was asked that would he be interested in meeting his old mate Ranatunga. By that time, Ranatunga was already retired from cricket. Warne took a dig at Ranatunga’s weight in that presser.
“Arjuna, he’s probably slotting himself around at 150 kilos at the moment, is he? Swallowed a sheep or something like that,” Warne said.
Arjuna Ranatunga was a class batsman, but he did not digest any filth thrown at him. He was quick in his reply and gave the 2003 drug reference to Warne.
“If I swallow a lamb or a goat, it is none of his business. But I must tell him that I don’t swallow those pills and blame my mother for it,” Arjuna said.
“I am fine and fit at 95 kilograms. It is better to swallow a sheep or a goat than swallow what he has been swallowing.”
“I, however, respect Warne as a player. He is great.”
Both Arjuna Ranatunga and Shane Warne are legendary cricketers and this rivalry will have it’s name in the history of cricket.
