Sri Lanka's Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe on Monday sacked the National Cricket Board after the humiliating defeat by India in the World Cup. Ranasinghe has been at odds with Sri Lanka Cricket for months over allegations of large-scale corruption. The country's 1996 World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga has been appointed chairman of the new interim board, Ranasinghe's office said in a statement. According to the statement, Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe has formed an interim committee for Sri Lanka Cricket.
The new seven-member panel also includes a retired Supreme Court judge and a former chairman of the board. The move comes a day after the board's second-highest official, Secretary Mohan de Silva, resigned. Ranasinghe had publicly demanded the resignation of the entire board following Sri Lanka's 302-run defeat to hosts India in the World Cup last week. Chasing India's target of 358 runs, Sri Lanka at one time lost six wickets for 14 runs and was reduced to 55 runs, which is the fourth-lowest score in the history of the World Cup.
The defeat sparked public anger and police have been deployed outside the board office in Colombo following protests on Saturday. Ranasinghe had said that Sri Lankan cricket officials have no moral or ethical right to continue in office. He said, 'Board officials should resign voluntarily. He had earlier accused the board of being traitors and corrupt. Sri Lanka has to play against Bangladesh on Monday and will need a miracle if they want to make it to the last four of the World Cup.
Ranasinghe had on Saturday written a letter to the full members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), seeking mutual understanding and support. In a letter issued to Sri Lankan media, Ranasinghe said, 'Sri Lanka cricket is surrounded by disciplinary issues of players, management corruption, financial misconduct and allegations of match-fixing. The sports minister was forced by the ICC to withdraw the three-member panel appointed last month to probe alleged corruption at the board as it was considered political interference.
The ICC had no immediate reaction to the latest move by Ranasinghe, who sacked the board elected in May, and chairman Shammi Silva, who is serving a third consecutive term. Sri Lanka has not won the World Cup since 1996 and Ranasinghe blamed the board for the poor standard. Prasanna Ranatunga, another cabinet minister, told Parliament in August that the 1996 victory was the biggest curse for our cricket.
He said, 'After 1996, money started coming into the cricket board, and with it came people who wanted to commit theft and corruption.' Former Sports Minister Harin Fernando introduced tough anti-corruption laws in 2019, saying the ICC considered Sri Lanka one of the most corrupt cricket nations in the world.
Also Read: IND vs SA: South African batsmen surrendered before Indian bowlers, made this shameful record in ODI
The nightclub in Goa, where a fire claimed 25 lives, had been the subject of complaints for many
As soon as the Ayodhya gang rape case got linked to Sitapur, the village of Moodikheda in Laharpu
Rajasthan Royals' young opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi touched Mahendra Singh Dhoni's feet and conclu
Earthquake tremors were felt in Kutch, Gujarat, with no loss of life or property.
Earthquake tremors were felt in Kutch district of Gujarat this morning. The magnitude of the eart
Microsoft founder Bill Gates spent time with a tea seller from Nagpur on Instagram on Wednesday.
Flood situation persists in Manipur and Assam due to continuous rains after cyclone Remal. In Man
Dunki Advance Booking: 'Dunki' rang in booking, figure crossed 4 crores, see the collection
Dunki Advance Booking: Shah Rukh Khan is ready to make a splash this year with the film 'Dunki'.
On June 13, Israel carried out rapid attacks on Iran's nuclear bases. After this, the confrontati
There is a hint of a big upset in Haryana. In the trends so far, the BJP is forming the governmen
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that today technology has become an important part of life, lik
