Sri Lanka cricket‘s membership with the ICC has been suspended with immediate effect, a day after their final match of the 2023 men’s ODI World Cup.
The ICC statement released on November 10 stated:
“The ICC Board of Directors met today and found that Sri Lanka Cricket had seriously breached its obligations as a member, particularly its obligation to maintain autonomous management of its affairs and to ensure there was no government interference in its governance, regulation and administration. “.”/or the administration of cricket in Sri Lanka.
“The ICC Board will decide on the terms of the suspension in due course.”
The ICC board has suspended Sri Lanka’s membership with immediate effect.
The board concluded that the SLC had “seriously breached its membership obligations” to manage its affairs autonomously and operate without government interference. pic.twitter.com/IYVAo4BQR0
– Wisden (@WisdenCricket) 10. November 2023
Sri Lanka’s 302-run defeat against India triggered a series of events in the country. Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe has fired officials of the Sri Lanka Cricket Board who were accused of poor governance and corruption in a report by the Auditor General of Sri Lanka.
This committee has been replaced by a seven-member interim committee headed by Arjuna Ranatunga.
A sub-committee was also established by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to investigate the SLC. Mr. Ranasinghe was asked by the President to withdraw from the interim committee.
However, following the intervention of SLC President Shami Silva, the Court of Appeal issued a 14-day stay order, preventing the interim committee from proceeding.
On the day of the final league match against New Zealand, a resolution was passed in parliament to dismiss the “corrupt officials” and the SLC president. Mr. Ranasinghe forwarded the same to his ICC.
A day before the ICC’s announcement, coach Chris Silverwood was asked to comment on developments regarding Sri Lankan cricket in his post-match press conference. He said, “Obviously, as far as what is currently happening within the country, Sri Lankan politics is completely irrelevant to me as an outsider.Therefore, I respectfully decline to comment on these areas.” I’ll have it.
“I think we kept a common camp here and focused on what we were trying to do and of course tried to win here. That’s the best thing we can do. ”
For those wondering why, in brief ⬇️ https://t.co/ALYDXQw8o3 pic.twitter.com/aUlLRGKywX
– Estelle Vasudevan (@Estelle_Vasude1) 10. November 2023
In 2019, Zimbabwe was also suspended by the ICC due to government intervention.
Sri Lanka, who secured their place in the 2023 World Cup qualifiers by winning the qualifiers, moved up to eighth place in the points table with two wins from nine matches. In the last league match, she lost by five wickets to New Zealand in Bangalore.
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