Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board was on Monday sacked by the federal government within the aftermath of the nationwide staff’s heavy defeat to hosts India within the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. The motion adopted a public outcry and calls by Ranasinghe to Shammi Silva-led SLC to resign after Sri Lanka’s 302-run to India in Mumbai on November 2.
Since the defeat, a number of demonstrations have been organised reverse the SLC premises, demanding the resignation of the Silva administration. The riot police was positioned to guard the constructing.
Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe appointed an interim seven-member committee headed by former World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga. A launch from the Ministry of Sports stated the committee has been appointed by Ranasinghe underneath the powers of Sports Law No. 25 of 1973.
The committee additionally has three retired judges, two of them feminine, and former SLC chair Upali Dharmadasa. This marked the return of Ranatunga, who additionally headed the same interim committee in 2008, on the helm of affairs of Sri Lankan cricket.
Sri Lanka Cricket Board Suspended: Sri Lanka Sports Minister has appointed an Interim Committee for SLC with 1996 World Cup profitable Captain Arjuna Ranatunga as Chairman with impact from at this time pic.twitter.com/iyGH1IOTKw
— Azzam Ameen (@AzzamAmeen) November 6, 2023
Ranatunga, who headed the National Sports Council appointed by Ranasinghe, has been questioning the Silva administration. Silva was elected as SLC chief in May for his third successive time period which was to run till 2025.
Stand-in skipper Kusal Mendis revealed that he was ‘sad’ after the staff’s embarrassing loss to Team India after getting bowled out for 55 in reply to India’s 357 for 8 in Mumbai. “When we actually talk about the previous match, I feel very sad about it. And that’s why it’s hard for us to stay thinking about that previous match. we still have two more matches in this tournament. We’ve identified our shortcomings as a team, and now our focus is on the upcoming matches,” Mendis stated within the pre-match press convention on Sunday.
“We want to forget about that match as soon as possible. But it is not a match that can be easily forgotten. We should always try to prepare ourselves for the next two matches without thinking about that match. Must win both upcoming matches. As the leader of the team, we have talked about what needs to be done for that. We have talked about where we went wrong. We want to play well in the upcoming matches,” he added.
Sri Lanka will tackle Bangladesh of their eighth match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Monday.
(with PTI inputs)
