The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday, 10 November, suspended Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Board's membership of the body over alleged government interference in the administration of cricket in the country.
"The International Cricket Council (ICC) Board has suspended Sri Lanka Cricket’s membership of the ICC with immediate effect. 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 ICC said in a statement.
"The conditions of the suspension will be decided by the ICC Board in due course," the apex cricket governing body further confirmed.
ICC's letter to Sri Lanka Cricket's president, Shammi Silva.
(Photo: SLC)
While the ICC's quarterly meetings are to be held from 18-21 November in Ahmedabad, the sporting body is set to have conducted a meeting online on Friday to address the Sri Lanka Cricket Board situation.
The ICC Board agreed that government interference was completely against the terms and conditions listed in the ICC constitution. The sporting body is said to have informed SLC officials of its decision and further told them that next steps will be taken when the ICC meets on 21 November, ESPNCricinfo reported.
Sri Lanka's Cricket Fiasco
Earlier, the national cricket board was sacked by Roshan Ranasinghe, Sri Lanka’s sports minister, following their abysmal performance at the 2023 ICC World Cup.
There were also public remonstrations against the office bearers, following which Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) secretary, Mohan de Silva resigned from his position. World Cup-winning skipper, Arjuna Ranatunga was appointed as the interim chairman and a seven-member independent committee was also set up, which included two retired Supreme Court judges – Rohini Marasinghe and SI Imam.
However, only a day after being sacked, the cricket board was reinstated after Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal put a 14-day stay order on the current board’s dissolution.
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