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The administrative woes of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC)
worsened on Tuesday when the nation’s court of appeals granted a 14-day stay
order, halting the government gazette’s appointment of a “interim
committee” from going into force. The country’s minister of sports, Roshan
Ranasinghe, had led the initiative, but SLC president Shammi Silva had filed an
appeal against it.
However, it doesn’t seem to be just a sporting dispute
any more, as it had already reached the top echelons of Sri Lankan government,
including President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office, before the court’s ruling.
Eventually, the issue was brought up by the cabinet of ministers on Monday, and
it was even discussed during Tuesday’s parliamentary session.
Numerous accounts state that President Wickremesinghe
was unaware of the decision to form an interim committee until he saw it on
television. For his part, Ranasinghe has maintained that the sports minister
alone had the authority to make the decision and that neither the president nor
the cabinet had to agree.
Nevertheless, once the issue was brought up at the
cabinet meeting—in which Ranasinghe was also present—it was determined that SLC
would be looked at by a four-person subcommittee led by foreign minister Ali
Sabry.
“The cabinet has resolved to appoint a special
sub-committee with the mandate to examine the current situation and work in
collaboration with relevant stakeholders, including input from esteemed former
cricketers,” a statement from the president’s media office said. “The
primary objective of this sub-committee is to recommend immediate, viable
measures to resolve the outstanding issues in Sri Lanka Cricket.”
Ranasinghe disclosed in his speech to the house today
that he had been instructed by the president to revoke the committee’s
designation as a temporary measure. Ranasinghe is adamant that the Arjuna
Ranatunga-led temporary committee oversee SLC, despite his repeated accusations
of money embezzlement and poor administration by the Silva-led board.
Speaking to local media on Monday, he stated:
“These are people enjoying public money. If the president, attorney
general and the inspector general of police assist me, the entire SLC committee
will be in prison for at least 15 years.”