Sports Minister orders SIU to probe cricket selection chief’s statements

Minister of Sports Roshan Ranasinghe has informed the Special Investigation Unit for Preventing Sports Offences to investigate the statements made by Sri Lanka Cricket Selection Committee Chairman Pramodya Wickramasinghe, the Ministry of Sports said.

In the aftermath of Sri Lanka’s disappointing run at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in India, the chief of the Sri Lanka’s Cricket Selection Committee, Pramodya Wickramasinghe on Tuesday (Nov.14) released a statement expressing his views on the plight of the sport in the country.

He also dismissed the criticisms levelled against the national cricket selection committee over the past two and a half years, as untrue and destructive.

The former cricketer said he is of the view that the current adversities faced by Sri Lankan cricket were the result of a multifaceted conspiratorial plans that had been operating at various levels the past two and a half years, to fulfil personal ambitions.

The chief selector had claimed that the ban imposed on Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) by the International Cricket Council (ICC) was also a consequence of this scheme.

In August, the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs had appointed a Special Investigation Unit under the Prevention of Offences Relating to Sports Act, headed by Assistant Superintendent of Police W.A. Jayanath Wanasinghe.

It had been established for the practical execution of the legal provisions of the Act, and proceed in line with the powers and functions assigned by the Prevention of Offences relating to Sports Act.