Elections for Cricket Board put off for January

PTI: Elections to appoint office-bearers to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) were yesterday postponed from 27 December to 3 January next year.

“The election will be held on 3 January. This is a change from the decision to hold it on 27 December. We realised that the financial year ends only on 31 December and the election must be held thereafter,”

Ranjani Jayakodi, the Director General of Sports, said. She, however, said there was no change to the period of nominations which begins here today, carried through over 14 days.The SLC elections are to take place for the first time since 2004 after successive politically appointed interim committees ran the administration. In the last election, Thilanga Sumathipala had defeated Arjuna Ranatunga for the top post.

Sources close to Sumathipala, who is now a Member of Parliament from the ruling UPFA coalition, said the former President of SLC had summoned representatives from all voting clubs to a meeting.

Elections for...

He wants to assess his chances of being elected.

The chairman of the last of the interim committees, businessman Upali Dharmadasa, is being seen as a front-runner to the position.

Sumathipala was a Vice-President under Dharmadasa in the first elected administration of 1996, immediately after Sri Lanka emerged world champions defeating Australia.

The SLC administration is currently in financial dire straits, with unpaid salaries and contract payments of players. It awaits Government cash to stay afloat.