Colombo, July 1 (IANS) Sri Lanka’s sports ministry has dissolved the interim committee running the country’s cricket board and will be announcing a new panel.
Sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage took the decision amid media allegations of corruption in Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).
‘It was only last month that the Supreme Court ordered the present SLC interim committee, which was under heavy media criticism, especially due to financial mismanagement, that it should provide reasons for not holding elections or to decide on dates for fresh elections,’ according to a report in The Island Friday.
Present SLC chairman, D.S. de Silva and his secretary, Nishantha Ranatunga were in Hong Kong to attend the ICC executive board meeting.
SLC media manager Brian Thomas said: ‘The board has been dissolved. The government have not told us the reason why but this particular interim committee has served its two years.’
The outgoing panel was appointed in April 2009 mainly to oversee the co-hosting of the World Cup along with India and Bangladesh.
SLC has been run by a succession of interim committees chosen by the country’s sports ministry for seven years.
‘It was believed that the new interim committee would start functioning from today,’ the report said.
The ICC in its executive committee meeting has said that member boards will have to be free from government and political interference within two years.
‘In the next 12 months, boards should be working towards free elections and we will assess the matter again at the 2012 annual conference,’ ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said.
