The chief of the Sri Lanka Cricket Selection Committee, Pramodya Wickramasinghe on Tuesday (Nov.14) released a statement expressing his views on the plight of the sport in the country.

Wickramasinghe dismissed the criticisms levelled against the national cricket selection committee over the past two and a half years were untrue and destructive.

He is of the view that the current adversities faced by Sri Lankan cricket were the result of a multifaceted conspiratorial plans that had been operating at various levels the past two and a half years to fulfil personal ambitions.

The chief selector said the ban imposed on Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday was also a consequence of this scheme.

Behind this conspiracy, he said were certain individuals who were vying for power in the cricket governing body, brokers involved in match-fixing, and the players who were trying hard to secure their spot in the national team. “The ultimate goal was to cause the downfall of the cricket administration.”

These ‘conspirators’ have invested significant amounts of money to disseminate certain views and opinions in their favour on social media platforms and to include certain players of their liking into the national team, Wickramasinghe alleged.

The objective of these ‘conspiracies’, he said was to evoke extensive criticism against the country’s cricket. “One way of doing so is to create a strong political opinion against the [SLC] administration.”

But, the ‘conspirators’ followed another method, which is to create a public opinion that the SLC administration is lacking, Wickramasinghe said. For this purpose, they often the pick out the weaknesses of the national team to undermine the cricket selection committee, the coaches and the players, he added.

The appointment of the new sports minister added fuel to the fire, Wickramasinghe said, praising the former subject ministers for giving their utmost support for the functioning of the cricket selection committee.

Wickramasinghe also pointed out that a major criticism against the selection committee was not recalling the senior players to the team. He claimed that the ‘conspirators’ had shed crocodile tears about introducing new players to the national team, accusing the selection team of arriving at erroneous decisions.

He also took issue with the sports ministry for lacking a firm policy on selection, citing as an example the minister’s refusal to include the injured players Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera in the national squad for the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India, despite the selection committee nominating them.

Pramodya Wickramasinghe - L... by Adaderana Online