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Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is in a delicate situation after the resignation of Shammi Silva and other office bearers under the leadership of Silva. All of them resigned, after which a meeting was held with the Sri Lankan government.
Due to the massive registration, influenced by the government, a temporary committee was formed to run the cricket board. As per rules and regulations, political interference in national cricket boards is strictly prohibited.
Jay Shah will discuss the current situation of Sri Lankan cricket
Amid the controversial situation, International Cricket Council (ICC) Chairman Jay Shah is set to hold a meeting with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Friday. It is expected that the future of cricket in the island nation will be decided in the meeting.
The interim committee, which is currently managing the cricket board, is expected to be one of the main topics of discussion. Since there is clear involvement of the country’s government, it has been alleged that the interim panel is not properly aligned with the Council’s rules.
Is SLC violating ICC rules?
National cricket governing bodies are expected to operate and administer independently, free from any government or political interference. In late April, Sri Lankan Sports Minister Sunil Kumar Gamage appointed an interim committee to look after the Sri Lankan Cricket Board.
If the Jay Shah-led ICC is found to be violating rules in the process, government intervention could put the cricket board in serious trouble. According to media reports, the ICC has asked the SLC to arrange democratic elections as soon as possible to elect the new governing body.
“According to sources, the ICC wrote a letter to SLC CEO Ashley de Silva last week. Although the contents of the letter have not been disclosed, it is understood that the ICC has stressed the need to hold democratic elections without any delay,” reported Sportstar.
The previous governing body led by Shammi Silva was to last till May next year. This means that if he performed his duties as per the previous deadline, the next election to decide the next president would be held after the conclusion of his term in 2027.
In the past, there was an instance when the International Cricket Council suspended a national cricket board due to government interference. In 2019, Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) was suspended by the ICC in July 2019 due to government interference.
Zimbabwe cricket was banned by ICC
As a major part of the suspension, the ICC also suspended all financial distributions to Zimbabwe Cricket. The council had to impose sanctions on the National Cricket Board because of the direct involvement of the Zimbabwe Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC), thereby weakening the elected ZC board. The Cricket Council lifted the suspension after an agreement was reached between both the parties (ICC and ZC).
Cricket Canada and USA Cricket were other national cricket governing bodies that fell under ICC rules and faced penalties for various reasons.