Sri Lanka Cricket / ICC suspended Sri Lanka Cricket Board - cited government interference as the reason

Sri Lanka Cricket: Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) has been suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC). ICC has taken away his membership with immediate effect after the government's interference in the board. Sri Lanka's performance in the ongoing ODI World Cup in India was very disappointing. The team could win only 2 out of 9 matches.

Decision taken in online meeting

The ICC quarterly meeting will be held in Ahmedabad from 18 to 21 November during the World Cup. The Sri Lankan Cricket Board was completely dissolved by the government of the country recently. In view of this, ICC officials held an online meeting and suspended the board.

ICC said that there was too much interference of the government in the Sri Lanka Cricket Board. There should be no government interference in the work of any ICC member. But for the last few days, the Sri Lanka Board has not been able to function openly, in view of which the Board is being suspended with immediate effect.

The decision on the team's play will be taken in the meeting

The ICC meeting to be held from 18 to 21 November will decide what to do next with the Sri Lanka Cricket Board. However, after the suspension, there does not seem to be any impact on Sri Lankan cricket at the moment. Because the team will not play any international cricket till December and no funds are to be transferred to the board till January.

Hosting of Under-19 World Cup may be snatched away

After the suspension of SLC, there will hardly be any impact on the players but ICC can stop the revenue of Sri Lanka Board. Besides, hosting of the next ICC event can also be snatched away from them. Men's Under-19 World Cup is to be held in Sri Lanka during January-February next year. If the board membership in ICC is not retained then the hosting of this tournament may also be taken away from them.

The board was dissolved during the World Cup itself

Sri Lanka's Sports Ministry dismissed the Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) on Monday, 6 November, after its disappointing performance in the World Cup. An interim board was also formed for Sri Lanka Cricket. Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe's office had said in a statement, 'The country's 1996 World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga has been appointed chairman of the new interim board.'

However, the Sri Lankan court stayed the decision to dissolve the board for the next 14 days. After this interference of the government in the board, SLC President Shammi Silva sought help from ICC. ICC immediately suspended online meetings and board membership.

There were also allegations of corruption on the board

After the defeat to India, Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe in a statement on Friday had called the Sri Lanka Cricket Board traitor and corrupt. He had also sought resignation from the board members. After which Sri Lanka Cricket Secretary Mohan de Silva resigned from his post on Saturday, 4 November.

The board was angry after the 302-run defeat by India.

In the World Cup match played on November 2, India defeated Sri Lanka by 302 runs. In this match, India batted first and scored 357 runs at the loss of 8 wickets. Chasing the target of 358 runs, the Sri Lankan team could score only 55 runs. Half of the Sri Lankan team was out after making just 14. The top order completely failed and the team lost by 302 runs. After the defeat to India, the Sri Lankan board had expressed concern over the poor performance of the team. After this match, the team was also defeated by Bangladesh and New Zealand.

Sri Lanka could win only 2 matches in the World Cup

After finishing runner up in the Asia Cup, the Sri Lankan team came to play the ODI World Cup but their performance was very disappointing. The team could win only 2 out of 9 matches. The team could only defeat England and Netherlands. They also faced defeats against other Asian teams like Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Sri Lanka is currently at number 9 in the points table of 10 teams and all its matches in the tournament have ended.

Zimbabwe Board was also suspended in 2019

Sri Lanka Board became the second board to be suspended within the last 4 years. Before that, in the year 2019, the Zimbabwe Cricket Board was also suspended after the interference of the government. After the suspension, all cricket activities in Zimbabwe were stopped and their funding was also stopped. But looking at the circumstances, it seems that such strictness will not be taken with Sri Lankan cricket. The suspension from Zimbabwe Cricket Board was also lifted after 3 months.

However, if ICC adopts strict rules on Sri Lanka then they will not get a chance to participate in any future ICC events. ICC Under-19 and T-20 World Cup is to be played in 2024. Sri Lanka is going to participate in both the tournaments.