Sri Lanka President discusses dismal cricket condition with Jay Shah

Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said today that Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe discussed the disappointing state of cricketing affairs in the island nation with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President, Jay Shah. 

Notably, Kanchana said this in Parliament while responding to a claim by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, who alleged that Jay Shah's father is the right-hand man of Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. For the unversed, the International Cricket Council (ICC) Board suspended Sri Lanka Cricket's membership of the ICC on November 10, due to high political interference in its administration.

"One must not politicise the cricket crisis using parliamentary privileges. Sri Lankan cricketers will not be able to play even division 1 cricket as a result of Sri Lanka's suspension from ICC," he said. 

"The ICC Board met today and determined that Sri Lanka Cricket is in serious breach of its obligations as a Member, in particular, the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and ensure that there is no government interference in the governance, regulation and/or administration of cricket in Sri Lanka," the sport's governing board further mentioned in an official statement.

ICC suspended Sri Lanka Cricket with immediate effect after their dismal ODI World Cup 2023 campaign

After the dismal performance of the 'Lankan Lions' in the ODI World Cup 2023, where they finished second from the bottom, the Sri Lankan sports ministry dismissed SLC's board and replaced it with an interim committee. The sacking was stayed later on by Sri Lanka's Court of Appeal.

The cricket fraternity was shocked after hearing about the ICC's penalisation of the former world champions. After having a forgettable World Cup campaign and also missing out on the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy qualification, the verdict from ICC has just taken cricket in Sri Lanka to a standstill. 

Minister Harin Fernando said that it won't be possible for SLC to even give the ground boys their salaries because of the ICC suspension. Sri Lanka will lose the opportunity of hosting the forthcoming Under 19 World Cup in January next year, he noted.