SL Sports Minister wants to rid ‘system corruption’ from SLC

Friday, 3 April 2015 00:29 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sports and Tourism Minister Navin Dissanayake (left) with Sri Lanka Cricket Interim Committee Chairman Sidath Wettimuny at Wednesday’s news conference - Pic by Krishan Ranasinghe ESPNCricinfo: Sri Lanka Sports Minister Navin Dissanayake said he set up the interim committee to run Sri Lanka Cricket so that there “is no system corruption” within the board. “We want the finances our cricketers earn and bring to SLC used in the proper manner and dispersed properly,” he said. “We have to protect our cricketers - cricketers like Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara had a lot of problems with the previous body. The time is right for cricket to be put on the right track. There is no room for politicians and individuals.” Former Test opener Sidath Wettimuny leads the nine-member committee that took control on April 1 because the posts held by existing officials, led by president Jayantha Dharmadasa, had become null and void. The laws governing all sports bodies in Sri Lanka require annual elections to be held on or before 31 March. SLC’s elections, however, were postponed until the end of April due to the World Cup, which ended on 29 March. Dissanayake had wanted to hold the elections on 30 April, but the results of an investigation he had begun into the previous regime authorised by the then Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage had turned up financial irregularities which needed to be addressed. So he appointed the interim committee which has “been given the right to take cricket forward,” in Sri Lanka and said they will ensure: n There are no personal agendas in this cricket committee n No secret deals with anybody and everything is to be transparent n Provisions for TV rights and also devise a plan for ICC funds of $ 16 million “We want to clear all this up and we don’t think an election is going to help that process but only complicate it,” Dissanayake said. “Improving the cricket structure, changing the voting system for the elections, we feel this interim committee will bring those changes. Anybody who takes over after that will have to adhere to it. It’s a very transparent process.”

Jayawardene and Muralitharan to assist SLC

Former Sri Lanka cricketer Sidath Wettimuny, who heads the Interim Committee, said Mahela Jayawardene had agreed to assist them as an honorary consultant to help develop cricket at the grassroots level and improve the school cricket structure. Wettimuny also stated that Muttiah Muralitharan had also made himself available to assist them. Jayawardene, a former captain, retired from all formats of the game at the end of the 2015 World Cup.