SRI LANKA CRICKET NEWS – DECEMBER 2022 – By Victor Melder
Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe has appointed a six-member Fact Finding Committee to inquire not only about the players’ behaviour during the T20 World Cup in Australia but also to ascertain whether officials showed “real concerns” for the team members. Ranasinghe said, “We have appointed a six-member committee to report on the recent issues. The committee will be chaired by the Former High Court Judge Kusala Sarojini. One former cricketer is also in the committee.” The other members of the committee are former Ministerial Secretary Kingsley Fernando, Retired CID DIG Sudath Nagahamulla, Retired Rear Admiral Ananda Peiris, former cricketer Nalin de Alwis and Attorney-at-Law Shalani Roshana.”No time-frame is given to the committee but will ask the members to expedite the process.” The minister also expressed his concern over the way issues were handled regarding Chamika Karunaratne. The 26-year-old has been given a one-year-suspended ban by SLC. “Was he dropped for his poor form or bad behaviour? He has been cleared to play international cricket. My opinion is that if the player is in poor form or facing disciplinary action, he should not be considered at all.” The bowling all-rounder has already been named in an LPL team. “I will ensure that from next year onwards any out of form player or player facing disciplinary charges is not selected even to play league cricket”. The minister also denied the plan to appoint any interim committee but hinted there will be many changes in the year 2023. “We want the right people for all sports. Arjuna Ranatunga is helping me a lot and will continue to consult him for all important matters. We want to streamline everything. Cricket is a very popular sport in our country and will ensure public money put in the game is not wasted,” the minister concluded. (Daily Mirror, 3.12.2022)
Sri Lanka beat the touring Afghanistan team by 4 wickets to win the third and final ODI played at Pallekelle International Cricket Stadium, levelling the 3-match series 1-1. Scores:
Afghanistan – 313/8 in 50 Overs ( I. Zadran 162, N. Zadran 72, Shah 22, Rajitha 3/60, WE. H. de Silva 2/67)
Sri Lanka – 314/6 in 49.4 Overs (Asalanka 83no, K.mendis 67, Shanaka 43, Nissanka 35, Chandimal 33, Khan 4/37, Nabi 2/56)
Player of the Match: Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka)
Player of the Series: Ibrahim Zadran (Afghanistan
ODI Debut: Noor Ahamad (Afghanistan), Lyndon Hannibal (Sri Lanka)
The Appeal Court yesterday agreed for amendments to be made to Sri Lanka Cricket constitution paving the way for much needed checks and balances and an equal playing field for stakeholders of the sport. Several leading stakeholders of cricket like S. Skandakumar, Muttiah Muralitharan, Rienzie Wijetilleke, late Vijaya Malalasekara, Sidath Wettimuny, Kusil Gunasekara and Dinal Phillips petitioned the court asking for fair governance for cricket with several cricket playing countries doing much needed reforms to their cricket structure in the last few years. Accordingly, India now has 38 votes while Pakistan has 18 votes at their cricket AGMs. In England there are 28 votes while Australia has only six votes. In Sri Lanka, meanwhile, there are 147 votes at the cricket AGM. This means controlling clubs like SSC, NCC, Tamil Union, CCC and Colts have two votes each while some of the paper clubs also enjoy two votes. What the landmark judgment means is that Sri Lanka can now adopt a system that is in line with the rest of the world. The case was filed two years ago and although the Sports Ministry had vehemently opposed for changes to be made to the constitution the arrival of new Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe saw that stance being completely changed. Minister Ranasinghe informed the courts that he had no objections for changes being made to the constitution of SLC. There was further controversy as the Minister’s letter claiming no objections were not presented to the court by the Attorney General’s Department for two settings and finally the document was forwarded on Friday paving the way for the historic judgment. The Sports Minister is the Chief Respondent in the case. He is certain to become the cynosure of all eyes in cricket circles as there had been several attempts made to make amendments to SLC constitution previously but there was little political will on those occasions. Now the Minister of Sports will form an independent committee to bring the changes to SLC constitution. These changes will be made after consultation with the International Cricket Council. (Rex Clementine, Daily Mirror, 6.12.2022)
Alex Marshall, the head of International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) will arrive in Sri Lanka today on the invitation of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to investigate allegations of match-fixing during the recent Test series against Pakistan.Opposition MP Nalin Bandara made a sensational claim last month in Parliament that the two-match Test series played in July was fixed albeit any proof. “In the last Pakistan series, our team scored 400-odd [Sri Lanka had set a target of 342, a ground record if achieved], and still lost in the last innings. From the person who rolls the pitch, everyone has been given money. The Board has become a gambling den,” said the MP, taking cover behind the parliamentary privilege. SLC neither denied nor accepted the charges but extended an invitation to ACU head to conduct an independent investigation. The Board said they are mandated to uphold the integrity of the game at both the national and international level. It believes this is the correct course of action to take in light of the allegations which have caused immense reputational damage to Sri Lanka. The two-match series against Pakistan was played in Galle during the peak of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis this year. In the opening fixture, Pakistan chased down a difficult target of 342 with four wickets in hand to go 1-up in the series. Sri Lanka fought back in the second Test to defeat the visitors by 246 runs and end the series at 1-1. Although the MP made these revelations in Parliament, he did not complain to the Special Police Investigation Unit (SIU) set up to probe sports-related corruption. In 2019, Sri Lankan Parliament passed tough laws to tackle sports corruption after several Sri Lankan stars were charged by the ICC ACU for having engaged in corrupt practices. “We have not received any complaints regarding the alleged match-fixing charges nor have we got any instructions from the Sports Ministry to initiate an inquiry. Since the allegations were made in Parliament, we cannot initiate an investigation as it’s immune to libel and defamation suits,” said SIU Director SSP Nihal Fonseka. Match-fixing claims are not new to the Sri Lanka cricket team. While several former stars were banned for their hand in corruption, ACU was closely watching Sri Lankan cricketers since 2017 as they considered the country as one of the most questionable nations under its purview. Former Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage dropped a bombshell a few years ago when he said the 2011 World Cup between Sri Lanka and India was fixed. An investigation was held but found no evidence to support the claims. The AFP newswire quotes a Pakistan Cricket Board official a saying he could not comment on an investigation being conducted by SLC and linked it to the host country’s cricketers. “No one — neither the ICC nor the Sri Lanka Board — approached us on the recent allegations made by one of the Opposition leaders regarding the 1-1 drawn Test series between the two countries. So unless and until we are being approached, we are not in a position to say anything,” a PCB official, when contacted by the AFP, said. “The ICC Anti-Corruption Unit always keeps a close check on all international matches. They were there in Sri Lanka during the July series, nothing happened, and no eyebrow was raised. If the Sri Lanka Board wants to investigate their players, they are free to do that. The PCB has nothing to do with it as it has something to do with SL cricketers. We will only react if the SL Board or ICC approaches us. So far there is no such thing,” the official told AFP. (Sunday Times, 11.12.2022)
A 20 member squad for the upcoming Sri Lanka tour of India was announced by the Sri Lanka Cricket Selection Committee today, following Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe’s approval. 1) Dasun Shanaka – Captain’ 2) Pathum Nissanka, 3) Avishka Fernando, 4) Sadeera Samarawickrama, 5) Kusal Mendis – Vice Captain for ODIs ,6) Bhanuka Rajapaksa – Only for T20Is, 7) Charith Asalanka , 8) Dhananjaya de Silva , 9) Wanindu Hasaranga – Vice Captain for T20Is, 10) Ashen Bandara, 11) Maheesh Theekshana, 12) Jeffrey Vandersay – Only for ODIs , 13) Chamika Karunaratne, 14) Dilshan Madushanka, 15) Kasun Rajitha, 16) Nuwanidu Fernando- Only for ODIs, 17) Dunith Wellalage, 18) Pramod Madushan,
19) Lahiru Kumara , 20) Nuwan Thushara – Only for T20Is. Sri Lanka team will take part in 03 ODIs and 03 T20i during the tour. (Daily Mirror, 29.12.2022)
