Sports Minister Reveals President’s Attempt to Interference in Sri Lanka Cricket
• Says extant of corruption within SLC is incomprehensible, and it is infested with corrupt persons
• Warns important documents at SLC may go missing in coming days following injunction order issued by courts on committee
• Accuses SLC’s administrators of issuing cheques worth past few days alone
- Claims President Wickramesinghe urged him to withdraw appointment of of interim committee.In a startling turn of events, Minister of Sports Roshan Ranasinghe yesterday revealed attempts made by President Wickramesinghe to interfer in the former’s attempts to reform Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).
Speaking in Parliament, Minister Ranasinghe claimed that President Wickramesinghe contacted him and pressured him to revoke the appointment of Sri Lanka Cricket Interim Committee, which Ranasinghe had established in a bid to revamp the Sri Lanka Cricket Board and uplift the sport.
According to reports, the President had become aware of decision to appoint an interim committee only through media coverage, which may have resulted in his call for it to be withdrawn.
“ He demanded that I withdraw the committee’s appointment, warning that if I refused, he would assume control of the sports law,” Ranasinghe said.
“ I asked him to make a decision according to his preferences after dismissing me, as I will not remove the committee appointed,” he added.
However after the issue was presented at the cabinet meeting on Monday, in which Ranasinghe was also in attendance, a decision was made to establish a four-member sub-committee headed by Foreign Minister Ali Sabry to investigate allegations against SLC.
Ranasinghe said the extent of corruption within the SLC is incomprehensible, and it is infested with corrupt individuals. He accused the SLC’s
administrators of issuing cheques worth billions in the past few days, anticipating the appointment of an interim committee.
The Minister also informed Parliament that the floodlights at the Dambulla International Cricket Stadium had been replaced hastily, incurring a cost LKR 1.5 billion in the past few days.
The Minister voiced there are concerns surrounding this decision and concerns about potential risk of importance documents at SLC going missing during this time period.
The Sports Minister said the people had demanded corruption-free governance through the “Aragalaya” movement, and he took on the role with the belief that he could meet those expectations.
