Sports Minister writes to ICC over reports of committee probing SLC

Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Roshan Ranasinghe has reportedly written to the Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) pertaining to recent reports claiming that a  committee has been appointed to investigate Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).

Accordingly, the Minister stated that he has written to the ICC Chairman, requesting a discussion on social media reports claiming that the ICC has appointed a three-member committee to investigate into the alleged political interferences within SLC.

Indian media recently reported that the ICC has appointed a three-member committee to assess the much talked about political interference in the functioning of SLC.

The high profile committee includes – Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah, ICC Deputy Chairman Imran Khawaja and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan, Cricket Age learned.

“The committee is tasked to comprehensively looking at the matter and submit the report to the game’s governing body”, a well placed ICC source told Cricket Age.

The development comes days after SLC’s top Officials – President Shammi Silva, CEO Ashley de Silva, Secretary Mohan de Silva and Vice President Domestic Cricket Ravin Wickramaratne – Dubai visit to attend the ICC meeting.

The debate – over political interference in the functioning of the Cricket Board in Sri Lanka – started right after Roshan Ranasinghe’s sworn In as Island’s Sports Minister last year.

It reached the boiling point, when Ranasinghe issued a series of regulations on December 14, with regard to the matters including the tenure of Sports Associations, holding elections, term of office of the positions held in sports associations and age limitations.

In response, SLC went to the Court of Appeal and managed to get an interim order preventing the implementation of the gazette notification, until the hearing of the writ petition filed by the Cricket Board and several sports associations is concluded.

Since then, Minister and Maitland Place’s top officials are at loggerheads.

Interestingly, several other Sport Bodies have also voiced their concern against Ranasinghe’s gazette notification, especially after Football and Rugby were banned by its global governing bodies respectively.

- With input from agencies