Cabinet sub-committee authorised to make decisions on ICC suspension of SLC

The Cabinet sub-committee appointed to look into the gazette issued by Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe appointing an Interim Committee for Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the future activities of the cricket board, has been authorised to make decisions pertaining to the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) suspension of SLC’s membership.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed the Chairman of the Ministerial Sub-Committee for Cricket, Minister Ali Sabry, to spearhead efforts aimed at lifting the suspension imposed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sri Lanka Cricket, the PMD said.

Further, it has been decided that, moving forward, the approval of the cabinet will be mandatory for the appointment of any interim committees, the President’s Media Division reported.

On 10 November, the ICC suspended SLC’s membership, with immediate effect, on the grounds that the governing body is in serious breach of its obligations as a Member, in particular, the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and ensure that there is no government interference in the governance, regulation and/or administration of cricket in Sri Lanka.

Thus, while the conditions of the suspension are to be decided by the ICC board in due course, the Board is slated to meet on 21 November, after which the future course of SLC is expected to be clearer.

On 06 November, President Wickremesinghe had appointed a four-member committee, chaired by Minister Ali Sabry, and comprising of Ministers Tiran Alles, Manusha Nanayakkara and Kanchana Wijesekara, to look into matters concerning SLC, after Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe had decided to appoint a seven-member  Interim Committee for SLC, chaired by World Cup-winning former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga. 

The Interim Committee, comprising of retired Supreme Court judges S.I. Imam and Rohini Marasinghe, retired High Court judge Irangani Perera, Upali Dharmasena, Attorney-at-Law Rakitha Rajapakshe and Hisham Jamaldeen, had been appointed to carry out the board’s operations until further notice or until an election is held, under the authority granted to him by the Sports Law No. 25 of 1973.

However, President Ranil Wickremesinghe had not been notified about the sports minister’s decision to appoint the said interim committee, its composition or the decision to suspend the previous board. Internal sources said the Head of State had only come to know of the interim panel’s appointment through media report.

Thus, the ministerial sub-committee was appointed to look into the sports minister’s move, with the consent of the Sports Minister and the President.

The Court of Appeals, on 07 November, however, issued a 14-day stay order preventing the operation of the seven-member Interim Committee appointed for SLC and the relevant gazette notification issued by Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe in this regard.

The order was delivered by a two-member judge bench upon the consideration of a writ petition filed by the Chairman of SLC Shammi Silva.