ICC CEO meets Sri Lanka sports activities minister, president
ICC CEO Geoff Allardice has met with Sri Lanka’s new sports activities minister, in addition to the nation’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe, throughout a quick go to undertaken to achieve a greater understanding of the political scenario within the nation because it pertains to cricket administration. In November, the ICC imposed a suspension on Sri Lanka Cricket’s membership, and subesequently stripped the nation of its hosting rights of the Men’s Under-19 World Cup.
Following his assembly with Allardice, sports activities minister Harin Fernando posted on X (previously Twitter) that the pair had had a “constructive discussion and a way forward for SLC”. Subsequent to that assembly, Allardice had additionally met President Wickremesinghe, with whom he’s understood to have mentioned potential modifications to SLC’s structure.
Allardice will now report his findings again to the ICC’s board, which is because of meet on the finish of March, and are prone to have the matter of SLC’s membership on their agenda.
The ICC’s suspension of SLC had formally been predicated on perceived authorities interference. On November 6, earlier sports activities minister Roshan Ranasinghe had sought to sack the entire SLC board, however one other arm of Sri Lanka’s authorities – the judiciary – primarily reversed that call on the next day, issuing a stay order on the minister’s gazette.
Several days later, nevertheless, the ICC’s board suspended SLC on the behest of SLC’s personal officers, who had been on the time at critical odds with then-sports minister Ranasinghe. They had requested the suspension as a way of staving off additional interference.
With that minister now sacked, and a minister palatable to SLC now in place, board members have been internally assured SLC will probably be reinstated as a full member on the subsequent board assembly.
This is the second journey to Sri Lanka by an ICC government to discern the character of Sri Lanka’s politics’ intersection with cricket. In mid-2023, ICC deputy chair Imran Khwaja got here to Sri Lanka to analyze potential authorities interference. On that event Khwaja is known to not have discovered quick proof to droop the board.