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Presidential rock-the-boat throws Sri Lanka Cricket into another tense stoush with the ICC.Trusted team set up to steer the ship back on course.BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE (eLanka Sports Editor)
Sometimes hard and desperate decisions need to be made to steer a ship back on course.
And it is never too late to achieve this objective even if it means that decision makers at Sri Lanka cricket may have finally sensed impending doom and made futile last minute changes that may actually be productive to the country’s future in a game they are currently in free-fall.
This appears to be the case of Sri Lanka’s sorry former cricket administration and the decision to relieve the entire Cricket Board and replace them with a Transformation Committee until clarity and confidence is restored with a new administration and a different mindset.
Sri Lanka’s former cricket administration have been coaxed to move aside, reportedly by the country’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, to usher in fresh thinking and urgent remedial measures to guide their fortunes back to the glory days after an avalanche of protests about mismanagement in financial and other matters.
The last seven years has not achieved that, according to inside sources. Conversely it has headed in the opposite direction.
Pressure from several quarters have forced the country’s President to boldly intervene and make the diabolical decision, although doing so, steers him and the games future into uncharted waters. His involvement is certainly in the interest of the country’s poor standing in the world rankings.
The ICC have made it explicitly clear that political interference into the administration is a definite no, no, even if it gives the elected administration a free hand to steer the country’s fortunes.
But an avalanche of protests and public outcry into the financial mismanagement and suspicious direction has forced the President’s hand to act and rectify what was until then a sorry plight.
It’s a delicate situation where the ICC sponsors the game’s development financially and in other aspects of it’s involvement worldwide.
They also control all members at all levels of the game.
How they perceive the recent changes to the Sri Lanka situation will be interesting and closely monitored. A delegation from the ICC met with the Transformation Committee to work out what plans are in place before elections are held for a newly elected Board to manage the games affairs.
But what is more concerning though are the implications of the Transformation Committee who are not a permanent governing body but will put in place recommendations to reset the course right and arrest the country’s dwindling form and performances over the past decade or more.
The new committee announced by Sports Minister is headed by former Minister Eran Wickremaratne, a former prominent cricketer at Royal College backed by some highly respected names such as Kumar Sangakkara, Sidsath Wettimuny, Roshan Mahaname, Prakash Shafter, and some others, it is a line-up that exudes honesty and integrity.
The makeup also covers all avenues of expertise that can deliver the best possible blueprint for the new course of Sri Lanka cricket that clearly lacked proper direction and respect for the national cap from some players.
Priorities by cricketers have got to be understood and underlined if players have been are to be given opportunity and will national recognition.
The timing of the decision although widely accepted, does not guarantee that things will not return to what it was after a election to pick ICC accepted office bearers unless the recommendations are rubber stamped with an acceptable time frame beforeamendmens can be made.
The outgoing committee are expected to be back in the mix if and when democratically elected office bearers are chosen so the wording of any recommendations and the insistence they are adhered to is vital if this exercise is not meant to turn farcical.
It’s a concerning time for Sri Lanka Cricket especially with the hiring of one of the best coaches in Gary Kirstan who has the credentials to turn things out for the better if he is allowed a free rein.
The progress of the recent changes and Kirstan’s debut in the Caribbean will reveal the trend and will be closely monitored.
