President of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Shammi Silva has admitted to taking several persons, including family members, to watch the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.
Responding to queries when the cricket board was summoned before the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) on Tuesday (14 Nov.), Silva had admitted to taking family members and friends for the World Cup held in Australia last year.
Accordingly, the SLC President had admitted to having taken his mother-in-law Daisy Janet, brother-in-law Robert Silva, his close friend Shrimal Gunaratne and wife Nishadhi Padmasiri and another friend of his, Sanjaya Samarasinghe, to Australia, in response to a questions raised in this regard by MPs Anura Dissanayake and Dayasiri Jayasekera.
He further noted that R. A. Shenula Dinushika and R.A Sarah Dinali, who are listed in the Auditor General’s report on SLC’s recommendations and participants for the 2022 T20 World Cup, were the daughters of Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe, and that he was the one who had given all three persons their letters of endorsement from SLC for Australian visas.
“However, Australian visas weren’t granted for politicians at the time”, Shammi Silva said, adding that his wife had received her visa to Australia not because of the tournament, but because she had travelled to Australia previously.
Meanwhile, SLC officials present at the meeting further revealed that actresses Anuradha Edirisinghe and Shalani Tharaka had been listed by SLC Vice President Dr. Jayantha Dharmadasa.
SLC office bearers were summoned before COPE on 14 November, to discuss the Auditor General’s report on SLC and other concerns pertaining to the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.
Following the meeting, it was decided that the governing body would once again be summoned before COPE on 23 and 28 November.
