Sri Lanka Cricket’s future faces fresh uncertainty as Jay Shah meets President Dissanayake

The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) remains in a delicate state after the resignation of Shammi Silva and the other office bearers, led by Silva. All of them resigned, followed by a meeting with the government of Sri Lanka.

Because of the mass registration, influenced by the government, a temporary committee was formed to run the cricket board. As per the norms and regulations, political interference in the national cricket boards is strictly prohibited.

Jay Shah to discuss Sri Lanka Cricket’s current situation

Amid the controversial situation, the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman, Jay Shah, is all set to hold a meeting with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Friday. The meeting is expected to decide the future of the island nation’s cricket.

The interim committee, which is currently managing the cricket board, is expected to be one of the main topics of the discussion. As there is clear involvement of the nation’s government, it is alleged that the interim panel is not properly aligned with the Council’s regulations.

SLC breaching ICC regulations?

The national cricket governing bodies are expected to work independently and administer, free from any government or political interference. In late April, Sri Lanka’s Sports Minister Sunil Kumar Gamage appointed the interim committee to take care of the Sri Lankan cricket board.

The interference of the government could lead the cricket board into serious trouble if the ICC, headed by Jay Shah, found breaching to regulations in the process. According to media reports, ICC has asked SLC to arrange a democratic election as soon as possible to elect a fresh governing body.

“According to sources, the ICC last week wrote to SLC CEO Ashley de Silva. While the contents of the letter have not been disclosed, it is understood that the ICC stressed the need for democratic elections to be conducted without further delay,” according to a Sportstar report.

The previous governing body, led by Shammi Silva, was due to run until May next year. Which means, if they carried out their duties according to the previous time frame, then the next election to decide the next Chairman would be held after the conclusion of his tenure in 2027.

In the past, there was an instance when the International Cricket Council suspended a national cricket board because of government interference. In 2019, Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) was suspended by the ICC in July 2019 due to government interference.

Zimbabwe Cricket was banned by the ICC

As a major part of the suspension, the ICC suspended all financial distributions to Zimbabwe Cricket as well. The council had to ban the national cricket board, as there was direct involvement of Zimbabwe’s Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC), diluting the elected ZC board. Cricket Council lifted the suspension after both parties (ICC and ZC) reached an agreement.

Cricket Canada and USA Cricket were the other national cricket governing bodies that came under the ICC’s regulations and faced punishments for different reasons.