Harin Fernando, the Minister of Sports, announced on February 1 that Sri Lanka will host the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in July. After the ODI World Cup, the ICC suspended Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) due to government meddling in the organization’s operations; however, the ban was recently overturned in January.
Notably, following the major tournament in India, they were stopped following the appointment of an interim committee by Fernando’s predecessor, Roshan Ranasinghe. Arjuna Ranatunga, the captain of the 1996 World Cup team, led the committee and later accused the SLC of corruption.
Not long later, the ICC ruled that Ranasinghe had broken its governance standards by designating an interim committee in violation of the law. Additionally, it cost them the opportunity to host the U19 World Cup, which was ultimately moved to South Africa. Fernando, meanwhile, is thrilled to be hosting the forthcoming AGM, which will take place in Colombo from July 19–22. He believes it would greatly benefit the country’s cricket and tourism sectors.
From July 19–22, Sri Lanka will host the ICC AGM in Colombo. Fernando said in a statement that “this will be a great boost for Sri Lanka with regards to cricket and tourism.”
Afghanistan will visit Sri Lanka for a single test.
Sri Lanka’s cricket career will continue on February 2 with a one-off Test match against Afghanistan following the white-ball series against Zimbabwe. Given that these two sides will be playing red-ball cricket against one another for the first time ever, there is a lot of excitement surrounding the match.
Sri Lanka has called up right-arm seamers Chamika Gunasekara and Milan Rathnayake, neither of whom have international experience, and Afghanistan has also selected two uncapped players. Since Rashid Khan is currently recovering from an injury, he will miss the series. The onus will be on the hitters, who performed dreadfully in their most recent Test match against Bangladesh in 2023.
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