Sri Lankan Cricket Board Looks At A Major Overhaul After The T20 World Cup Debacle

The Sri Lankan cricket board could bear the brunt of a dismal show by their team in the T20 World Cup at home. Their Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage on Thursday indicated that the government is considering forming an interim committee to "rebuild" the game in the country.

Sri Lanka crashed out of the tournament after losing all their home Super Eights matches against England, New Zealand, and Pakistan.

"Discussions are underway with the ICC (International Cricket Council) to hand over the administration of SLC (Sri Lanka Cricket) to an interim committee to rebuild the sport," Gamage told reporters.

Shammi Silva is the current chairman of the SLC, whose contract is till May 2027.

Apart from the three losses in the Super Eights stage, Sri Lanka also lost a dead rubber match against Zimbabwe in the preliminary round. Their poor performance in a home World Cup led to public protest last week outside the SLC headquarters, demanding the resignation of the Silva administration.

The Minister said that Sri Lanka's President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is also involved in the ongoing talks with the ICC.

"We can't risk having a ban again from the ICC so must do everything in concurrence with the ICC," Gamage said referring to the past sanctions that the country has copped.

Sri Lanka got their membership suspended by the ICC in 2024, when the then Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe intervened in their cricket matters and sacked Silva from his position, citing corruption allegations.

The ICC doubled down by shifting the 2024 Under-19 Men's World Cup from Sri Lanka to South Africa due to government interference in the functioning of the sport.

Sri Lanka's sports law of 1973 gives the Sports Minister the power to discipline sports bodies. Gamage says that the government is keen to elevate the falling standards of Sri Lankan cricket back to the pre-2014 levels, when they were a top international cricketing side.

They are the 2014 T20 World Cup champions and were also the runners-up of the previous two editions of the tournament.

Gamage also appealed to the public to refrain from castigating the players for poor performance.

Sri Lankan players copped with scathing criticism during the World Cup, which prompted the captain, Dasun Shanaka, to highlight it in public and urged the government to curb the "negativity".