ICC suspends Sri Lanka cricket board due to government interference

International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday suspended the cricket board of Sri Lanka due to the inference by the government. The development comes days after the sports minister of the country sacked the entire cricket board of the country over the allegations of corruption. Later, the decision was overturned by Sri Lanka's Court of Appeals as it reinstated all the officials pending a full hearing.

“The ICC Board met today and determined that Sri Lanka Cricket 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. The conditions of the suspension will be decided by the ICC Board in due course,” ICC said in a release.

Dismal performance in World Cup 2023

This comes as the Sri Lanka cricket team couldn't perform well during the ICC World Cup 2023. The team managed to secure victory in 2 matches only out of the 9 league matches and is currently placed in 9th place on the World Cup points table. Sri Lanka was seen particularly miserable against India as the team finished with a double-digit score in the ICC World Cup and Asia Cup final match.

Sri Lanka's sports minister Roshan Ranasinghe took the decision to sack the cricket board citing widespread corruption in the cricket body. The minister said that the cricket authorities lacked the requisite moral and ethical legitimacy to retain their positions. The minister also formed an interim cricket board with 1996 World Cup-winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga as its chairman. "Sri Lanka Cricket had become known as the most corrupt institution in the country," Arjuna Ranatunga said. "I want to change that image," he added.

The decision was later overturned by Sri Lanka's Court of Appeals which restored the country's cricket board. "The restoring of the board is for two weeks when the court will hear the case again," a court official said.