De Silva hits back at Dharmadasa claims

By Madushka Balasuriya

SLC presidential candidate Mohan De Silva yesterday welcomed Sports Minister Harin Fernando’s decision to conduct a forensic audit into Sri Lanka Cricket’s accounts, noting that he had in fact requested the Minister to extend the audited period from two to four years. 

De Silva also refuted allegations made against him by his opponent for the SLC Presidency, Jayantha Dharmadasa, earlier this month. Dharmadasa had referenced the previous board headed by Thilanga Sumathipala, and one in which De Silva was first Secretary and then Vice President, as one of the most corrupt cricket boards in the world.

“Such allegations without verification are harmful, so we urge the Minister to look into our affairs, and punish any one of us who is found guilty,” retorted De Silva at a press conference at the Colombo Cricket Club yesterday.

“We in fact had two discussions with the Minister of Sports, where we also discussed other issues about payments to players, staff, and introducing reforms. We were very happy with how he responded to our requests. 

“We also asked him to make the forensic audit for not just two years, but four years. We’re very thankful to the Minister for that, we’re very confident we don’t have any skeletons in our cupboard and we will be able to clear our names.”

De Silva also once again brought into question Dharmadasa’s eligibility to run for the post of President. Dharmadasa’s nomination had been challenged on the grounds that he had not “represented an affiliate or controlling club or a member cricket association in any major tournament conducted or approved by SLC” - a prerequisite for running for SLC President as per the SLC Constitution; however, he was cleared by the Elections Committee. De Silva has appealed this decision.

“We have objected to the Appeal Court regarding his eligibility,” he stated. “And yesterday we also gave a written request to the Minister about a certain individual - a certain legal officer who is working in the Ministry, who has very close connections to Dharmadasa - to keep him out of this election process.”

Dharmadasa, for his part, claims his time playing Mercantile cricket, which is now no longer considered a “major tournament,” clears him to contest.

“Mercantile cricket was previously recognised by SLC as a Premier Tournament, but that status was removed to block my brother (Upali Dharmadasa) and I from contesting the elections,” Dharmadasa had said earlier this month.

De Silva’s candidacy is widely seen as an extension of Thilanga Sumathipala, with the latter’s voter base expected to back De Silva in next month’s elections. As such, several plans put on the backburner since Sumathipala was ousted, may come back on the agenda if De Silva is voted in - one such plan is to bring IPL matches to Sri Lanka.

“We had discussions - we didn’t want to come out and say at the time - about bringing some of the IPL games to Sri Lanka. That’s also still a possibility, those were our plans,” he revealed.