After suffering a devastating defeat to India in the ongoing World Cup 2023, Sri Lanka’s sports minister, Roshan Ranasinghe, removed the entire national cricket board from their positions today.
Ranasinghe has been in a contentious dispute with Sri Lanka Cricket, which is the wealthiest sports organization in the financially troubled island, for months due to accusations of extensive corruption.
Arjuna Ranatunga, the captain who led Sri Lanka to victory in the 1996 World Cup, has been appointed as the chairman of a newly formed interim board, as announced by Ranasinghe’s office in a statement.
The statement said, “Sports minister Roshan Ranasinghe has formed an interim committee for Sri Lanka Cricket.”
Ranasinghe made a public call for the resignation of the entire board following Sri Lanka’s crushing 302-run defeat to the host team, India, in the World Cup last week.
It should be noted that Sri Lanka was bowled out for only 55 runs against India, suffering a massive defeat by a margin of 302 runs.
The entire Sri Lankan cricket community is deeply disheartened by this loss. This defeat has led to a significant public outcry, resulting in the deployment of police outside the board office in Colombo following heated protests on Saturday.
Ranasinghe expressed the view that officials in Sri Lanka Cricket lacked the moral and ethical legitimacy to retain their positions.
He said, “They should voluntarily resign.” He had previously accused the board of being “traitorous and corrupt”.
Ranasinghe reached out to all the full members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday, seeking their understanding and support while acknowledging the ICC’s policies against political interference in the sport.
Ranasinghe, in his letters released to the Sri Lankan media, has highlighted a series of issues plaguing Sri Lanka Cricket, including player disciplinary problems, allegations of corruption within the management, financial misconduct, and accusations of match-fixing.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) compelled the minister to retract a three-member panel he had recently appointed to investigate alleged corruption within the board, as it was deemed to be political interference.
The ICC has not issued an immediate response to Ranasinghe’s latest action, which involves the removal of the board that was elected in May, with Shammi Silva serving his third consecutive term as president.
Another cabinet minister, Prasanna Ranatunga, who is the brother of the newly appointed interim board chairman, informed parliament in August that the 1996 World Cup victory had brought about negative consequences for Sri Lankan cricket.
He stated, “Money started flowing to the cricket board after 1996, and along with it, individuals with corrupt intentions entered the scene.”
A former sports minister, Harin Fernando, implemented stringent anti-corruption laws in 2019 after asserting that the ICC regarded Sri Lanka as one of the most corrupt cricketing nations globally.