Reggie Ranatunga passes away

COLOMBO: Reggie Ranatunga, veteran SriLankan politician and father of world cup winning cricket team captain ArjunaRanatunga, died here this morning following a pro-longed illness.Reggie Ranatunga, who was in his seventies, died at a privatehospital here. He was ailing for some time. The septuagenarianleader was sworn in as a parliament member for the ruling United Peoples FreedomAlliance to fill the seat left vacant by death of fellow parliamentarianSripathy Sooriyarachchi. Earlier, he served as the governor ofSabaragamuwa Province in South-western Sri Lanka. His son ArjunaRanatunga guided the island's cricket team to a world cup win in 1996 and iscurrently holding the post of Chairman of Sri Lankan Cricket.