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ICC says its board is satisfied that SLC is “no longer in breach of its membership obligations (government interference in board affairs)”
ESPNcricinfo Staff
The ICC Board has lifted the provisional suspension of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) with immediate effect, according to a statement from the body on Sunday evening.
SLC was suspended on November 10 for “seriously failing to fulfill its obligations as a member of the ICC.” Specifically, this had to do with “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 Board said it had been monitoring the situation since the suspension and “are now satisfied that SLC is no longer in breach of its membership obligations”.
The lifting of the suspension was expected since the Sri Lankan president fired Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe in late November. It had been with Ranasinghe that the SLC top brass had had a dispute that lasted for over a year. Since new Sports Minister Harin Fernando took office, it seemed likely that the SLC would be more willing to have its suspension lifted. In fact, ICC CEO Geoff Allardice had met Fernando and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickramasinghe this month.
Fernando had also said in the days leading up to this ICC announcement that he expected a change in Sri Lanka’s status at the ICC.
When the suspension was announced, it was understood to be a warning to Sri Lanka, and ESPNcricinfo had reported that the SLC itself had requested the suspension to illustrate to the Sri Lankan government that the ICC would not tolerate further meddling on its part.
Following the suspension, the men’s U-19 World Cup, which is currently being played, was moved from Sri Lanka to South Africa. Apart from that, there were no immediate implications for the day-to-day running of cricket in Sri Lanka, and the ICC Board had agreed that cricket at all levels, including bilateral and domestic series and tournaments, would not be affected by the suspension. . As for the ICC’s annual financing, it would be controlled until the suspension is lifted. Sri Lanka has since hosted Zimbabwe in a white-ball series, in early 2024.
In early November, Ranasinghe sacked the SLC board and installed an interim committee headed by Arjuna Ranatunga, but the Sri Lankan courts reinstated the board a day later by issuing a 14-day suspension order on the gazette he had dissolved. board.
But when the ICC suspension came, it was the elected SLC Board that was running cricket in the country.
SLC had become the second full member to be suspended by the ICC in the recent past after Zimbabwe Cricket was suspended in 2019 for similar reasons.