27 October 2023 07:55 pm Views - 2737
Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe, in a letter to the International Cricket Council (ICC), has denied the repeated allegations of political interference in Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and claimed that SLC is using the name of the sport's world governing body as a shield for their "wrongdoing".
The Minister and SLC officials have been at loggerheads since last year, with the Minister teasing legal action against SLC officials based on the recent findings of the national audit office following an inquiry into SLC’s expenditure for the T20 Cricket World Cup 2023.
In the letter dated October 27, 2023, and addressed to ICC Chairman Greg Barclay and ICC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Geoff Allardice, the Minister labelled the current office bearers at SLC as "shameless, traitorous and unfaithful to the cricket-loving community of Sri Lanka."
"The decision of the Sri Lanka Cricket officials to remain in their offices even after the Government audit has clearly stated their misconduct is a clear display of the unethical and shameless attitude they carry and is also a clear representation of the corrupted culture where the spirit of the game has been overwhelmed by a handful of people who are motivated only by money and which led to the deterioration of the cricketing standards," the letter also read.
“I regret to state that the Sri Lanka Cricket officials are using the integrity and the good name of the International Cricket Council (ICC) to shield their wrongdoing.”
The minister also said that he was addressing the letter to the ICC following media reports that Sri Lanka could lose hosting rights for several international tournaments, as a result of his purported interference.
SLC had previously reported the Minister to the ICC, claiming that he was interfering in its affairs, leading to the ICC to appoint a three-member committee to inquire into the claims.