Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardane had not built the next generation of cricketers who could take their place when they retired, former captain of the cricket team Arjuna Ranatunga said on Monday in a television interview.

Ranatunga said Sangakkara, Jayawardane and Tillakaratne Dilshan had left cricket around the same time.

“They could have groomed Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne. However, when they left, those two boys didn’t have a permanent spot. If Chandimal and Thirimanne had been able to steer the ship, Angelo Matthews could have come and taken the leadership in about three years,” he said.

Sangakkara, and Jayawardane left without facilitating that smooth transition, Ranatunga said, noting that when he headed Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), various cricket clubs directly asked him how much money he could give them in exchange for their votes.

“They told me ‘Ayya, how much can you give us? This other person is giving us this much. This is the only time we can make some money.’ They don’t really care about fixing cricket,” he said.

Ranatunga said that even Mahinda Rajapaksa at the height of his popularity could not have successfully contested an SLC election because of corruption.