Stakeholders urge Navin to hold SLC AGM by August

A group of stakeholders of Sri Lanka Cricket has decided to urge Sports Minister Navin Dissanayake to hold an Annual General Meeting before 31 August.

The decision was made after the members of the stakeholder group met on Tuesday

It said the meeting was attended by 63 representatives out of 85 and they were enlightened on the discussions the group had with the Minister with regard to the request made by him to hold the Annual General Meeting of the SLC in January 2016.

“It was the unanimous view of all present that we should not delay the holding of the AGM any further and as such we should appeal to the Hon. Minister to hold the AGM at least before 31 August 2015,” a statement by the stakeholders said.

The membership was also concerned to a great extent by the damage caused to Sri Lanka Cricket as an institution in the eyes of the cricket-loving public with adverse media reports consequent to the cancellation of the AGM and the grave injustice caused to it by taking away its rights and privileges as an independent institution, depriving its members of a chance to elect administrators of their choice .

The members also discussed in detail some of the actions of the Interim Committee, particularly the borrowing of funds at exorbitant interest rates and the reduction in the number of player contracts which would have adverse effects on the future of Sri Lanka Cricket and change the club cricket structure to give prominence to provincial structure. 

They also totally condemned and resented vehemently the comments made by the Chairman of the Interim Committee, Sidath Wettimuny, at a recent media conference about the degeneration of Sri Lanka Cricket to justify the restructuring of domestic tournaments, when in fact Sri Lanka cricket had progressed remarkably during the last 10 years as evidenced by the records.

It was the unanimous view of all those present to empower the outgoing members of the Executive Committee to act on behalf of them and seek legal advice to place the members of the Interim Committee on notice and also to take whatever appropriate action was necessary as the SLC would not be responsible for any transactions or agreement that the Interim Committee entered into with any other party, the group said.

“It was brought to the notice of the membership that the CEO of the ICC David Richardson was making preparations to compile a report in early June for the ICC board meeting in June to be held in Barbados. 

“At this stage, the members voiced their strong concern about the dangers and subsequent repercussions  that may arise from the implementation of the regulations as per the ICC Governance guidelines with regard to the unjustifiable political interference in member Boards and questioned the authorities as to who would accept responsibility in the event of such an eventuality. 

“As such the members were of the unanimous view that we should make a strong appeal to the Hon. Minister to agree to hold the elections and resolve this issue amicably without any further delay in order to prevent serious consequences that could affect and create a tremendous impact on the game of cricket in our country,” the statement read.