In 2023, when World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga was at helm at National Sports Council, he ended up heading the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Interim Committee, as then Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe was dead against Maitland Place’s administration. It eventually costed Sri Lanka the hosting of U19 World Cup 2024 and an International ban for few months. With the formation of new Sports Council on Friday, the speculations are rife about the same fate – losing the co-hosting rights of 2026 T20 World Cup, if a political Interference scenario comes into the picture!
In Ranatunga’s led Interim committee, which had lasted only for few hours, Sri Lanka’s business tycoon Upali Dharmadasa was also Included as one of the member.
Interestingly, Upali, the former president of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), had thrown a dinner party for over half a dozen opposition MPs at Waters Edge just few weeks prior to his inclusion in the Interim Committee. Upali’s dinner diplomacy took place barely few hours before SLC’s administration’s public examination in the parliament, over a debate on it’s audit report, focusing on last T20 World Cup spending. Eventually, when parliament debate was held, some of the MPs thrashed SLC top brass and demanded for an Interim committee at Maitland Place!
In Friday appointed National Sports Council, former Sri Lanka opener Sidath Wettimuny is also Included as one of the member. Wettimuny has also the experience of leading one of the Interim committee at Maitland Place – around 2015. The committee was established because the posts held by then office bearers, led by Jayantha Dharmadasa, had become null and void.
During that period, one example stands out to show that how ineffective these sort of Interim committee’s turns out, when dealing with International Cricket Council (ICC) on bigger, sensitive matters! In the said committee, Kushil Gunasekera, who runs a foundation at Seenigama, was serving as secretary. Around the same time, Sri Lanka’s destructive batter Kusal Perera was accused in a doping test and was banned by the ICC. It was a false case! However, due to the Incompetence of the committee, Kusal’s case was not properly addressed or raised before ICC, leaving him in the wilderness for months. Cricket Age Exclusively learns that a die hard fan of Kusal Perera, who was certain of left hander batter’s Innocence in the matter, repeatedly followed and requested to look after the matter. However, nothing happened! Eventually, when Thilanga Sumathipala secured a thumping victory in the election and returned to Maitland Place, he fought with ICC with authority and managed to lift the ban of Kusal Perera, brought justice for him and revived his career! That was the only noteworthy achievement of Sumathipala’s otherwise controversial tenure!
The many such people likes of Upalais and Gunasekeras are once again likely to run for the Interim committee sort of scenario or to put constitutional changes at Maitland Place!
However, as during Roshan Ranasinghe’s drama episode itself ICC made it loud and clear that any such changes can be done only within the SLC stakeholders. Like it was done few months ago – by revamping its voting system, reducing the number of voting clubs from 147 to 60 to combat vote manipulation and buying.. It was a landmark step, which was done as per SLC constitution and through the EGM.
But, in any sort of political influence or pressure, Sri Lanka Cricket will be at risk of not only losing an ICC event hosting right, but also a potential cricket ban once again!
