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Despite being suspended by the International Cricket
Council (ICC) and facing threats from the country’s Sports Minister to appoint
Arjuna Ranatunga as its temporary head, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) seems to be
operating as usual. With the ICC’s approval, the SLC feels more confident and
is able to continue running the game in the nation without a court order. In
actuality, the suspended body is confronting the Sports Ministry head-on after
it was first dismissed.
Additionally, it appears that the nation’s president
has loosened his opposition to the SLC. A few days ago, he informed Parliament
that while he will review the three letters, which are available on this
website and which SLC president Shammi Silva addressed to the ICC on November
6, 7, and 9, requesting the suspension of the body, there has been no
discernible progress. Indeed, Ranil Wikremesinghe made a statement completely
at odds with the remarks made by Ranatunga, who was supported by Sports Minister
Roshan Ranasinghe, claiming that Jay Shah and the BCCI control Sri Lankan
cricket.
“No Jay Shah doesn’t run Sri Lankan cricket. They
think that Jay Shah is supporting the cricket board. But I spoke to Jay Shah
and felt sorry that his name had been dragged in and apologised,” the Sri
Lanka President told Indian website First Post. The court has deferred the
matter to Monday.
Meanwhile, the SLC has gone on the offensive against
the Sports Minister, disputing his claims of misappropriation of funds by the
cricket body. In a release on Friday (November 24), the SLC said, “Sri
Lanka Cricket (SLC) wishes to state that the Ministry of Sports has misled the
public and Sri Lanka Cricket by providing confusing details as to how it spent
the Rs. 289 million grant provided by SLC to the National Sports Fund. A
comparison between a document obtained by Sri Lanka Cricket from the Ministry of
Sports and Youth Affairs under the Right to Information (RTI) Act and the media
release issued by the Ministry informing how the funds were spent shows glaring
differences.
“In the media release issued by the Ministry of
Sports on November 13, 2023, it provided details of 47 items on how the SLC’s
grant of Rs. 289 million has been spent. However, a document obtained by the
SLC on November 23 under the Right to Information Act shows the ministry has
spent money on 67 activities instead of the 47 mentioned in the media
release.”