'Jay Shah doesn’t run Sri Lankan cricket' - Sri Lanka president Ranil Wickremesinghe responds to Arjuna Ranatunga’s comment

Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lanka president, invalidated former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga’s comments on BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) secretary Jay Shah. Ranatunga, recently stated that Shah is running the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) after the board was suspended by the ICC (International Cricket Council).

Wickremesinghe stated that Shah is not running SLC and he revealed his conversation with the latter on the issue. He added that he apologized to the BCCI secretary as his name got dragged in the aforementioned matter. 

“No Jay Shah doesn’t run Sri Lankan cricket. They think that Jay Shah is supporting the cricket board. But I spoke to Jay Shah and felt sorry that his name had been dragged in and apologized. He said, ‘My position is, whoever is the legal body, I will back. If this lot is the legal body I will back them. If the other lot is the legal body, I will back them. If there’s a third group that’s the legal body, I will back them. That’s not decided by me, that’s decided by ICC,” Wickremesinghe said during an exclusive interview with Firstpost.

“Because of the connection between SLC officials and Jay Shah, they (the BCCI) are under the impression that they can trample and control SLC. Jay Shah is running the Sri Lanka Cricket. SLC is being ruined because of pressure from Jay Shah. One man in India is ruining Sri Lankan cricket. He is only powerful because of his father, who is India’s home minister,” Ranatunga had stated earlier.

I am waiting to see the outcome or the decision of the courts in regard to the interim committee: Wickremesinghe 

The terms of suspension of SLC by the ICC were declared in a high-level meeting on November 21. As a result, the 2024 U19 World Cup has also been relocated from Sri Lanka to South Africa. Responding to the ICC's decision, Wickremesinghe mentioned that he is waiting for the court's decision regarding the interim committee to speak to the ICC.

“The opposition has said that the Board of Control has written to the ICC and has said to suspend Sri Lanka. The leader of the opposition gave me a set of letters, I haven’t looked at it. But ICC was anyway going to suspend Sri Lanka, I knew that. We were trying to save the U-19 matches, we were going to have tourism, but that didn’t work out so we lost on all that. I am waiting to see the outcome or the decision of the courts in regard to the interim committee. Once that is done, we’ll have to start talking with the ICC to ensure that Sri Lanka can host matches again.

“As far as the cricket board is concerned, there is a committee of ministers that are going to it, which will recommend legislation. They’ve spoken to the board members as well as to the interim committee members, but I want to bring legislation which will take away the power of the minister to intervene and interfere in politics,” Wickremesinghe further said.