It is reported that President Ranil Wickramasinghe has not been aware of the interim governing body appointed by Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe for srilanka cricket . suspend the Sri Lanka Cricket Board and appoint an interim cricket committee.
.President Ranil Wickremesinghe has decided to appoint a cabinet sub-committee to look into and report on the matter, As the president came to know about the gazette issued yesterday abolishing the Cricket Board by media report. This decision was taken during the cabinet meeting yesterday afternoon . This committee, headed by Minister Ali Sabri, includes ministers Tiran Alas, Manusha Nanayakkara and Kanchana Wijesekara.
International sports governing rules do not allow political interference in the game. In that way, if any political interference is done in the sport, it is the usual tradition for the international sports associations to work in such cases.
During the tenure of the current Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe, Sri Lanka was banned for rugby and football because of this kind of interference. Therefore, President Ranil Wickremesinghe had warned Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe in the cabinet not to interfere politically in cricket. Minister Roshan Ranasinghe also criticized the government’s actions in the Samanala wewa water release incident.
A few days ago, the ICC has written to Sri Lanka Cricket that the ongoing crisis between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Cricket Board must be resolved immediately, otherwise Sri Lanka may lose the 2024 ICC conference and tournaments.
The sports commentators say that Arjuna Ranatunga, the chairman of the National Sports Council, has pressured the Minister of Sports to become the chairman of the interim board, and because he could not become the chairman of the cricket governing body by the votes of the sports clubs, he has obtained the position of councilor through this kind of political intervention.
According to the report, lawyer Rakitha Rajapaksa, who has been appointed to the new interim committee, is the son of Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapaksa, Hisham Jamaldeen is a relative of politician Muzameel, and he played rugby but never played cricket. According to this situation, the allegation that the new interim management committee was politically appointed cannot be ruled out.