Saturday Nov 09, 2024
FT
Saturday Nov 09, 2024
Saturday, 4 November 2023 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe yesterday called on the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to resign or face drastic action.
The call came hot on the heels of Sri Lanka’s humiliating 302-run defeat to India in the ICC 2023 World Cup on Thursday.
Issuing a statement , the Sports Minister said that SLC and the national selectors should take responsibility for a disastrous World Cup campaign that was exacerbated by Thursday’s defeat.
“Sri Lanka Cricket officials have no moral, ethical right to remain in office. They should resign from their posts,” Minister Ranasinghe has said.
He also said that the non-inclusion of senior cricketers like Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal had an effect on Sri Lanka’s World Cup campaign.
“The victimisation of Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal by not including them in the World Cup squad also had an effect on Sri Lanka’s debacle at the World Cup,” he claimed.
“It is a joke that SLC is defending the selectors and its executive committee.”
In a separate letter to President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Sports Minister highlighted SLC’s association with brands that have links to betting and gambling companies.
“The Sri Lanka Cricket Board’s present leadership has made choices that have resulted in considerable damage to the organisation. Various Sri Lankan players have faced allegations of involvement in match-fixing schemes, and there has been a public backlash against Sri Lanka Cricket’s perceived promotion of a culture of betting and gambling,” he wrote.
The SLC’s decision to allow such entities to participate in the Lanka Premier League has been met with criticism as betting and gambling is a strictly restrained business while promoting related activities is illegal by several acts of Parliament,” the Minister’s letter to the President read.
The letter came after SLC itself wrote to the President complaining that several of its activities have been hindered by inaction from the Sports Minister.
In its letter, SLC said that the Minister had not yet given necessary approvals required to conduct the Under-19 World Cup and a franchise-based T10 league, in Sri Lanka.
