(COLOMBO) – Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday blamed the downfall of cricket in the country on two groups and added that the most suitable persons should be selected for the administration of the sport.
Speaking in Parliament Wickremesinghe stopped short at naming the groups but there is a festering dispute between the country’s Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe and the Head of the sport Shammi Silva.
Minister Ranasinghe blamed Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) headed by Silva for the poor performance of the national team at the recently concluded Men’s Cricket World in India where the island-nation failed to make it even to the finals.
Not only that, the Sri Lankan team was also beaten by minnows Bangladesh and Afghanistan and managed just two wins out of their allocated nine games.
The performance by the team led to a public outcry and Minister Ranasinghe was forced to intervene even accusing the sections of the judiciary of being biased on the issue.
Ranasinghe has also accused Silva of mass-scale corruption and misuse of funds among other irregularities and suggested that an interim committee should be appointed to administer the sport.
Silva has repeatedly denied any wrong doings saying that the accusations against him was not only false and misleading but also malicious with the intent of tarnishing his image both locally and internationally.
With on the ongoing melee the sport’s governing body the International Cricket Council (ICC) decided to ban Sri Lanka from participating in all ICC sanctioned events until further notice.
President Wickremesinghe also refuted claims that he was protecting’ Shammi Silva, and others at SLC saying that the country’s cricket ordeal is a longstanding issue.
He also urged Lawmakers to refrain from naming members of the judiciary under the cover of Parliament privileges.
“I asked the Sports Minister not to get involved in a legal battle with the cricket administration, as it could lead to a ban from the ICC and cause a setback for the country’s tourism”, Wickremesinghe added.
