Sri Lanka Cricket hit by yet another off-field controversy

Sri Lankan cricket makes headlines nowadays more for off-ground reasons than on it. While the national side has been putting up poor performance in the 22 yards, the island nation’s cricket has found itself hit by corruption. On Thursday, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) fired its food and beverage supplier for selling alcohol without a licence during the ongoing series against England, leading to a mid-match raid by tax officials.

It was learnt that the tax officials seized bottles of alcohol that were being served to England fans during the fifth and final ODI at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on October 23, NDTV sited reports as saying. According to the SLC, its hospitality partner Classic Destination did not have the necessary licences to serve alcohol at the ground.

Alcohol bottles seized during fifth ODI

“As the firm has failed to act within the law… and bringing disrepute to Sri Lanka Cricket, SLC decided to immediately terminate Classic Destination from delivering further hospitality services during the England tour,” a statement from SLC said on Thursday. No comment was available from the company immediately, it was learnt.

The controversy-marred series also saw England fans complaining of being charged more for the tickets than the local supporters. The board though defended saying the entry tickets were same for all supporters – local or foreign. The reports said Classic Destination was selling food and drinks in packages at $120 which the British media described as a “rip off”.

England won the five-match ODI series 3-1 with one game being washed out. They won three games on the trot before the hosts hammered them by a record 219 runs in the final game. Sri Lanka have failed to win any of their last six ODI series played at home. While they lost to Australia, Zimbabwe, India, South Africa and England, they drew with Bangladesh.

They will now play England in a one-off T20 before locking horns over a three-Test series starting November 6.

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