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Message: <blockquote data-quote="lkdood" data-source="post: 6850403" data-attributes="member: 92282"><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47389000/jpg/_47389890_008527566-1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya has been  criticised for refusing to quit the sport as he enters politics.The  veteran of the national team has said he will run in April's election  on the governing coalition ticket of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Jayasuriya  said he would continue to play one-day internationals but not Test  cricket. Critics say those not selected for the team might feel  they have to support the government to win a place. 'Disastrous'Jayasuriya  has retired from Test cricket but will continue in one-day  internationals (ODIs) and in the Indian Premier League. "Since I  am not playing Test cricket, I will have enough time for the politics,"  he told BBC Tamil. It is highly unlikely that the popular player,  nicknamed "Master Blaster", will lose his election battle. He would  become the first MP to play international cricket. Arjuna  Ranatunga, who was Jayasuriya's captain when Sri Lanka won the World Cup  in 1996, was highly critical of the move. "Jayasuriya has  indicated that he will continue to play until the 2011 World Cup, so  perhaps he might be trying to use his political influence to get a  permanent place in the team until then," he said. Ranatunga, a  former ruling party MP, is also contesting the April elections but on  the opposition ticket. He said Jayasuriya's move would be  "disastrous" for Sri Lankan sports. "From now on many other  players who do not get a place in the national team will join the  governing party's political stage to be selected to the national team,"  he told BBC Sinhala. However, Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge said  every member of the national team had the right be a parliamentarian  while playing international cricket. "If they are qualified and  still playing cricket, they all have the opportunity to play for the  country. They can all be MPs but they should attend practice sessions  and obey the rules of the game," he said.<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8541803.stm" target="_blank">bbc</a></blockquote>

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