Retired war veteran and now Member of Parliament General Sarath Fonseka wants the International Cricket Council (ICC) to ban Sri Lanka for as long as it pleases as the only way to wipe out corruption in the sport.
In a sarcastic manner the ex-army commander declared he never heard of a man called Shammi Silva who is at the centre of corruption in cricket until now.
“Until he (Silva) became the head of Sri Lanka Cricket we never knew of him or whether he has played cricket or marbles.
“Even if Sri Lanka is banned for five years or more it does not matter. We must clean up corruption in cricket,”, said Fonseka.
Meanwhile former Sri Lanka team captain Arjuna Ranatunga called on the government to assign sleuths of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe not corruption, that he is also against, but the culprit or group who betrayed the country and instigated the ICC to ban Sri Lanka.
“The CID has to be brought in to track down the traitor or traitors who got the ICC to ban Sri Lanka”, said Ranatunga.
Members of the Sri Lanka team holding a Press conference on Sunday Morning said the ban was beyond their control but called on the authorities to leave no stone unturned to get the ban lifted.
“We can only take care of our cricket on the field of play. We cannot do anything about what happens beyond the field,” said team Consultant coach Mahela Jayawardene.