ICC took a bold step to suspend Sri Lanka Cricket’s membership due to a breach of obligations on Friday, November 10. In the ICC meeting, the governing body found Sri Lanka’s current cricket body not following the regulations such as managing the cricket board autonomously and ensuring no government interference.
Sri Lanka’s abysmal performance at the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023 has led to a series of changes to the nation’s cricket governing body. ICC revoked the membership due to extensive government interference with the Sri Lanka Cricket administration after the team’s return home on Friday.
“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 ICC said in a statement. “The conditions of the suspension will be decided by the ICC Board in due course.”
According to reports, the ICC has already informed their decision to Sri Lanka Cricket and has decided to take the next steps during their quarterly meeting on November 21. Sri Lanka will not be able to participate in any ICC tournament and play bilateral series during their suspension. They are scheduled to host the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024 in January and February so the ICC board will consider conditions for suspension in their next meeting.In a surprise event, Sri Lanka’s sports minister Roshan Ranasinghe sacked the entire cricket board on Monday and appointed the former World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga to lead the cricket affairs. However, Sri Lanka’s apex court reinstated the board quickly and formed an interim committee to run the operations.
