On Tuesday, the Supreme International Cricket Council (ICC) will decide on a matter about Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). Following the suspension of the Sri Lankan board on the grounds of purported government meddling, the ICC now needs to deal with the issue of the Under 19 World Cup, which is slated to take place there in January 2024. The meeting of the ICC Board is being held in Ahmedabad.
A Sri Lankan court has moved the SLC case to November 22, one day after the Board meeting, while the ICC continues to decide on the case. A stay on the government’s Gazette notification, which disbanded the SLC and named an interim committee headed by Arjuna Ranatunga to administer cricket in Sri Lanka, was obtained by the suspended SLC members. On the government’s request, the court postponed the dispute until Wednesday after initially stopping the gazette notification’s implementation for two weeks.
However, it has now been revealed that the SLC itself requested that the ICC suspend the SLC. Elected SLC chief Shammi Silva begged the ICC to prosecute the organization in a string of letters.
“We urgently request the ICC’s urgent intervention to safeguard Sri Lankan cricket’s interests,” Silva wrote in a letter dated November 9. To maintain the democratic process within the SLC and the larger ideals espoused by the ICC, as well as to preserve the fundamentals of cricket administration and safeguard the sport’s reputation in our country, your fast attention and action on this problem are imperative.”
Silva requested ICC action, claiming that Sports Minister Roshan Ranasingh is orchestrating a debate in the nation’s Parliament that revolves around the autonomy of the SLC. Along with claiming that the minister was trying to use SLC funding for non-cricket-related activities, Silva allegedly threatened the residences and families of the elected SLC members.
Copies of the letter were marked to other members of the Board, including Jay Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and addressed to Greg Barclay, the chair of the ICC. On November 10, the ICC decided to suspend the SLC in response to this letter, which had been preceded by two earlier letters.
After the SLC was suspended, the ICC released the following statement: “The ICC Board convened today and concluded that Sri Lanka Cricket is seriously violating its Member obligations, especially the need to conduct its affairs independently and guarantee that the government does not interfere with the governance, regulation, and/or administration of cricket in Sri Lanka. The ICC Board will determine the suspension’s terms in due course.
Instances of government meddling with the Pakistan Cricket Board, the Afghanistan Cricket Board, and Cricket South Africa had not resulted in comparable measures from the ICC. On the other hand, an ICC representative stated that the international organization can only act upon a member’s complaint. Silva has been permitted by the ICC to attend the Board meeting on Tuesday, as was previously reported.