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Galle, Nov 21 The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday congratulated former Sri Lanka cricketer Ranjan Madugalle on becoming the first Match Referee to officiate in 200 Test matches. Madugalle, who also serves as the Chief Referee of the Elite Panel of Match Referees, reached the landmark in the ongoing first Test between Sri Lanka and West Indies in Galle.To mark the achievement, Madugalle was presented with mementos on behalf of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the ICC by SLC Vice President Dr Jayantha Dharmadasa and SLC CEO Ashley de Silva, respectively. Apart from officiating in 200 men's Test matches, Madugalle has officiated in 369 men's ODIs and 125 men's T20Is. He has also served as the match referee in 14 women's ODIs and eight women's T20Is.Commenting on reaching the landmark, Madugalle said in a statement, "It is an honour and a privilege to be officiating in my 200th Test match, for it is not a milestone I had never imagined I would reach. Whilst it has taken a long time, it seems just the other day that I had taken on this role, because I have enjoyed every bit of the journey. This is obviously what dreams are made of and I continue to be passionately involved with the game and in my role while liaising with my colleagues from the world over.""The passion obviously comes from my time as a player and it is my good fortune to have remained connected so closely with the game. I thank the International Cricket Council, Sri Lanka Cricket and all my colleagues over the years for all their help. My thanks are also due to my family and friends, without whose support it would not have been possible to have come this far."Madugalle enjoyed a decade-long international career for Sri Lanka as a cricketer, in which he played each of his country's first 18 Test Matches, enthralling fans with his stylish stroke-play. He captained Sri Lanka in his final two Tests. After retiring from the game, where he featured in 21 Tests and 63 ODIs, Madugalle was first appointed an ICC Match Referee in 1993.Madugalle's first assignment as a Match Referee was the Test between Pakistan and New Zealand in Karachi that December with a first ODI shortly afterwards. A regular at all major ICC tournaments, he has served as ICC Match Referee for four ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Finals (1999, 2003, 2015 and 2019), three ICC Champions Trophy Finals (2004, 2006 and 2013) and four ICC Men's T20 World Cup Finals (2007, 2010, 2016 and 2021)."Ranjan has been a tremendous asset over the years and a significant source of inspiration for others. We have benefitted from his experience and work ethic, as someone you can turn to for guidance. On behalf of the ICC, I would like to thank Ranjan for his years of service to the game and congratulate him on a wonderful career. We hope to continue benefiting from his expertise in the years to come," said Adrian Griffith, ICC Senior Manager - Umpires and Referees."It is difficult just to think of 200 Test matches against your name, let alone be on-duty for all those days and years over four decades. It is an astonishing statistic to be in office and reflects his passion for cricket. Ranjan is a Five Star General when it comes to serving the game. On behalf of all the Match Referees and Umpires on the ICC panels, I congratulate Ranjan on reaching the milestone and wish him many more," said Elite Panel Match Referee Jeff Crowe.Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

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