Ranasinghe created history in 1975 when he became the first schoolboy to play in a World Cup when he represented Sri Lanka in the inaugural tournament in England at the age of 18 years.

He was named in the 12 for the inaugural Test match where England played against Sri Lanka, but was left out on the morning of the game in favour of Lalith Kaluperuma.

He did play in two ODIs against England, but his fortunes were the reverse of Sri Lanka's - in the first ODI, he scored a quickfire 51, but was caught by Geoff Cook just as Sri Lanka needed to up the run rate to chase England's total.

His first innings was another disappointment, as he was dismissed for a duck, but a rearguard 77 against Kapil Dev and Dilip Doshi ensured that Sri Lanka could draw the match.

Ranasinghe's career, however, was cut short by deciding to tour South Africa in 1982-83, which resulted in him getting a 25-year ban from all cricket.