Sri Lanka Sports Minister sacks Cricket board officials days after World Cup humiliation against India, replaces it with interim committee led by Arjuna Ranatunga
This move comes after fans and government officials were unhappy with the poor performances of the Sri Lankan team in the World Cup.
Arjuna Ranatunga will be heading the new interim committee that has replaced the SLC boars (Image via ESPN)
On 6th November the Sri Lanka Sports Minister, Roshan Ranasinghe, sacked the Sri Lanka Cricket board after poor performances in the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup. This move comes days after their disastrous batting performance against India, where they were bowled out for only 55 runs.
Ranasinghe has replaced the entire board with an interim committee led by World Cup winning captain, Arjuna Ranatunga, who is the only cricketer in the committee.. This move comes days after the Sports Minister sent letters to other ICC full members, accusing the board of incompetence.
Although the ICC does not approve of Government involvement, the Sri Lankan government allows such actions under their Sports Law. The last time the SLC’s board had government involvement was in 2014, due to which the ICC refused to continue their payments and put their money in escrow. Along with that the SLC was demoted to observer status until a new board was elected.
The ICC’s Board is due to meet in two weeks time, with Ranatunga representing the SLC. There has still not been any action from the ICC regarding the government’s involvement, but that could be addressed in the Board meeting. In 2019 they had suspended Zimbabwe Cricket due to interference of the Nations government in the boar, but it was lifted in a few months.
Riot Police deployed around Sri Lanka Cricket office after 302 run loss to India
Hours after Sri Lanka’s humiliating loss to India, the Colombo police deployed the riot police around the SLC office in fear of fans protesting outside the building. The police were informed of a possible demonstration due to their poor form in the World Cup as many fans called for the sacking of the SLC board on social media after their 302 run loss to India.
Sri Lanka have had a poor 2023 ICC ODI World Cup campaign so far, with the team winning only 2 matches out of the 8 played. They have a poor net run rate as well, with a NRR of -1.160. They are knocked out of the tournament, with their only aim now being qualification for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
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Dhruv Kulkarni
(1120 Articles Published)