According to Minister Kanchana Wijesekera, Jay Shah, the president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), and President Ranil Wickremesinghe of Sri Lanka spoke about the depressing situation of cricket in the island nation.
Notably, Kanchana made this statement in Parliament in response to an accusation made by Sajith Premadasa, the leader of the opposition, claiming Jay Shah father is Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right-hand man. For those who don’t know, on November 10, the International Cricket Council (ICC) Board suspended Sri Lanka Cricket’s membership in the ICC because of significant political meddling in its management.
“Using parliamentary privileges to politicize the cricket situation is not acceptable. Due to Sri Lanka’s ICC ban, its cricket players will not be permitted to participate in division 1 cricket,” he stated.
“The ICC Board met today and determined that Sri Lanka Cricket is in serious breach of its obligations as a Member, 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 board further stated in an official announcement.
Following Sri Lanka Cricket’s miserable ODI World Cup 2023 performance, the ICC suspended the team immediately.
Following the ‘Lankan Lions’ disappointing performance in the ODI World Cup 2023, when they came in second to last position, the Sri Lankan sports ministry removed the SLC board and installed an interim committee in its stead. Later afterward, the Court of Appeal in Sri Lanka stopped the firing.
The news that the former world champions had been penalized by the ICC startled the cricket community. After a dismal World Cup campaign and failing to qualify for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, the ICC ruling has brought cricket in Sri Lanka to a complete halt.
According to Minister Harin Fernando, the ICC suspension makes it impossible for SLC to even pay the ground boys their salary. He pointed out that Sri Lanka will not be able to host the upcoming Under-19 World Cup in January of next year.
India
