COLOMBO, Nov 5: Former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga on Sunday welcomed the ICC's decision to ban Australia's Darrell Hair from international umpiring, accusing him of anti-Asian bias.

“Hair had a prejudice against Asian teams. I am happy that he is finally out.” Ranatunga said. “The decision will do good to future cricket.”

The decision to oust Hair was taken at the ICC executive board's two-day meeting that ended on Saturday in Mumbai following a complaint by the Pakistan Cricket Board. Ranatunga, now a politician and member of Sri Lankan parliament, first confronted Hair in 1995 during a Test against Australia in Melbourne.

Hair had no-balled Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan seven times during the Test, when Ranatunga led the side.

In protest Ranatunga asked his team to stop the game, which later resumed after officials intervened.

“He was a wrong man from the beginning to be in the cricket ground. I am happy that he is finally out,” Ranatunga, who led Sri Lanka to the World Cup title in 1996, said.

“I thank the ICC for taking the decision, which took a long time, but I think the ICC handled him well. They gave him time and chances, and finally it came to be known that he was not a fair umpire,” Ranatunga said.—AP