7 November 2023 12:00 am Views - 53
By JAMILA HUSAIN
Hours after Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe appointed an interim committee headed by former cricketer Arjuna Ranatunga to assume control of Sri Lanka Cricket yesterday, an angry President Ranil Wickremesinghe telephoned Ranasinghe and asked for an immediate explanation as to why he had made such a move without consulting him or the cabinet.
The Daily Mirror learns that the President was made aware that the Sri Lanka Cricket Board had been suspended, and an interim committee appointed by seeing the messages on the news and was surprised as to why Ranasinghe had not consulted him or anyone in the cabinet.
An angry Wickremesinghe immediately telephoned Ranasinghe and called for an explanation and asked him to be present at the cabinet meeting last evening.
The President had also informed Ranasinghe that politicizing the Sri Lanka Cricket Board would lead to Sri Lanka losing its membership from the ICC and why is it that such a sudden move was made when the World Cup series was ongoing. Ranasinghe of course had defended himself, to which he was firmly told to remember who the President was and that he should have consulted the cabinet before making any such move.
The Daily Mirror learns that Ranasinghe was informed by the President to compile a report into allegations of misconduct by the suspended Sri Lanka Cricket Board a few weeks ago and only after this report was submitted to the cabinet that a collective decision would be made and the course of action taken.
However, instead of doing that, Ranasinghe hurriedly suspended Shammi Silva and his gang from the SLC Board and appointed an interim committee appointed by Arjuna Ranatunga. While some retired judges have been appointed to the interim committee, serious questions were raised as to why A.J.M. Muzammil’s son, Hisham Jamaldeen and Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe’s son Rakitha Rajapakshe was appointed to the committee as both had no knowledge or experience of cricket, senior sources said.
It is learnt that a furious President had also mentioned to some of his close confidantes that he would revoke the gazette issued by Ranasinghe if Sri Lanka’s membership with the ICC was at stake and the cabinet would take over the Sports Law.
However, despite Ranasinghe being told to provide an explanation to the cabinet over his sudden move to appoint an interim committee, the new members led by Arjuna Ranatunga visited the Sri Lanka Cricket yesterday to take over their functions. Ranasinghe himself met Ranatunga later in the afternoon to begin discussions.
The suspended Sri Lanka Cricket Board led by Shammi Silva, who in recent days have been severely ridiculed by a cricket-loving nation for the national team’s disappointing performance, remained silent with all suspended members remaining tight-lipped over their disgraced suspension.