Ranatunga becomes minister

Sri Lanka's former cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga was sworn in as a deputy minister on Friday after he mended fences with President Chandrika Kumaratunga over allocation of portfolio.

Ranatunga, 40, who refused to be sworn in last month unless he was given the sports ministry, was inducted as deputy minister of Industries, Tourism and Investment Promotion, officials said.

He was elected at the April 2 Parliamentary polls, but refused to accept the junior ministry last month, saying he entered politics because Kumaratunga invited him to be in charge of sports.

Kumaratunga appointed a close relative Jeevan Kumaratunga, a former film star, as the Sports Minister in a 35-member cabinet headed by her.

Ranatunga's father, Reggie Ranatunga, a former minister, lost after contesting in Kumaratunga's home constituency of Gampaha district.

Ranatunga was the captain of the Sri Lankan team that won the cricket World Cup in the Indian subcontinent in 1996.