Sri Lanka Cricket’s membership in the International Cricket Council (ICC) has been suspended with immediate effect by the ICC Board for serious breach of its obligations as a member.
The board found that Sri Lanka Cricket failed to manage its affairs autonomously and allowed government interference in the governance, regulation, and administration of cricket in Sri Lanka.
The conditions of the suspension will be decided by the ICC, and the board will meet on November 21 to determine the future course of action.
CRUX NEWS reports that on Monday, Sri Lanka’s sports minister sacked the entire cricket board and appointed an interim committee led by World Cup winner Arjuna Ranatunga.
However, the interim committee was struck down by the courts the following day, and the old board was reinstated.
Under Sri Lanka’s own sports law, the government has the power to dissolve the governing body of any sport.
ICC has taken a dim view of government interference in the past, going back to 2014 when Sri Lanka’s government last appointed a committee.
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Sri Lanka Cricket released two statements, denying government accusations that they mishandled preparations for the Under-19 Cricket World Cup scheduled for January 2024 and that they transferred $2m from their accounts to third-party accounts.
Despite these controversies, Sri Lanka has been participating in the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India, but their performance has been subpar, with two wins in nine games, placing them ninth in the table.
The team is likely to stay in the bottom two of the table, barring heavy defeats for either England or Bangladesh on Saturday, which would keep them outside of the top-eight qualification spots for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
In a later defeat to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews became the first player to be timed out in international cricket when he failed to face his first delivery within the required two minutes after coming out to bat.
He attributed the delay to a broken strap on his helmet, branding Shakib’s actions as “disgraceful” and accusing the Bangladesh captain and his team of bringing the game into disrepute.
