ICC suspends Sri Lanka cricket : The International Cricket Council on Friday suspended Sri Lanka cricket with immediate effect for government interference in cricketing issues in the country.
“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,” a release by the game’s governing body said.
“The conditions of the suspension will be decided by the ICC Board in due course,” the statement added.
The main opposition party leader Sajith Premadasa moved the resolution titled “the removal of the corrupt SLC (Sri Lanka Cricket) management” which was seconded by the senior government minister Nimal Siripala de Silva.
The parliament’s approval came two days after the Court of Appeal restored the SLC management headed by Shammi Silva on Tuesday. On Monday, Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe sacked the SLC management and appointed Arjuna Ranatunga as head of a seven-member interim committee to govern the cricket board before the Court of Appeal restored it.
Sri Lanka could manage only two wins from nine games and are out of the semifinals race. The criticism of the national team’s performance grew louder when they were bowled out for 55 against India in Mumbai.
The first time the ICC handed a suspension to a full member was back in 2021 when Zimbabwe Cricket was suspended due to government interference.
