Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) membership of the International Cricket Council (ICC) has been suspended with fast impact for government interference.
Key factors:
- The SLC’s board had initially been dismissed by the nation’s ministry of sport
- The circumstances of the suspension might be determined by the ICC Board
- Sri Lanka gained solely two of its 9 matches within the preliminary stage on the males’s World Cup
Sri Lanka’s ministry of sport dismissed SLC’s board and changed it with an interim committee following the nation’s poor efficiency at this 12 months’s males’s Cricket World Cup in India.
But the sacking was stayed by Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal.
“The ICC Board met today and determined that Sri Lanka Cricket is in serious breach of its obligations as a member,” the ICC mentioned in a press release.
“In particular, the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and ensure that there is no government interference in the governance, regulation and/or administration of cricket in Sri Lanka.
“The circumstances of the suspension might be determined by the ICC Board sooner or later.”
Sri Lanka won only two of its nine matches at the World Cup and sits ninth in the 10-team standings.
It still needs the remaining league matches to go in its favour to qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
Sri Lanka is scheduled to host the Under 19 men’s World Cup, starting January.
Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe called SLC “traitorous and corrupt” in a statement to parliament on November 3, saying board members should resign.
Following the resignation of SLC secretary Mohan de Silva and the sacking of the board, Ranasinghe replaced them with an interim committee chaired by World Cup-winning former captain Arjuna Ranatunga.
But ousted SLC president Shammi Silva petitioned the court against the dismissal and was granted a two-week stay order, with a full hearing to follow.
The matter was also discussed in Sri Lanka’s parliament earlier this week.
Reuters/AP
