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ICC refuses Sports Minister’s request to meet Cricket Coordinating Committee
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has categorically refused to meet a three-member Sports Coordination Committee in Cricket appointed by Sri Lanka’s Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe.
The Minister’s latest move is seen as yet another attempt to creep into cricket administration via the committee that has been set up to handle the international affairs of the country’s richest sports body.
The team includes respected former Sri Lanka cricketer Sidath Wettimuny, former Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) President Upali Dharmadasa and Rakitha Rajapakshe, son of Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe.
They expected to “monitor, communicate and coordinate with international and national cricket councils, federations and institutes to safeguard the development, independence and transparency of cricket in Sri Lanka and also to advice the Hon. Minister”.
After setting up the body on Tuesday, the Minister notified the ICC of the latest development and requested a meeting for them with ICC Chair Greg Barclay. The ICC has, however, shot down the request and reiterated the need for SLC to govern its affairs autonomously, without any Government interference.
“The ICC’s point of contact for all issues relating to cricket in Sri Lanka will be Sri Lanka Cricket,” said the letter signed by Geoff Allardice, ICC Chief Executive, addressed to Minister Ranasinghe on Friday.
“So the ICC Chair and/or CEO will not be meeting with your International Sports Coordination Committee in Cricket without the endorsement of Sri Lanka Cricket, and no such endorsement has been given,” he maintained.
“As I stated in my letter to you of 11 April, the ICC expects Sri Lanka Cricket to manage its affairs autonomously and ensure that there is no Government (or other public or quasi-public body) interference in its governance, regulation and/or administration of cricket,” he continues.
Under the ICC’s rules, member boards are required to operate independently of Government interference, with the ultimate goal of protecting the integrity of the game. Like most international sports bodies, ICC demands complete independence of its member associations whilst respecting domestic laws.
The Sports Minister and SLC have been at loggerheads ever since Sri Lanka shifted the Asia Cup to Dubai (whilst retaining hosting rights) last year. He has openly criticised SLC over its handling of funds and the lack of transparency in its administration. SLC has, however, withstood the pressure.
Sri Lanka’s current Sports Law allows the Sports Minister dissolve all registered national sports bodies and put them under interim administration.
Following repeated complaints from SLC over political interference, the ICC appointed a three-member committee headed by Jay Shah, the Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Others on the committee are Usman Khwaja, the Deputy Chair of the ICC, and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hassan.
In May, Khwaja held talks with top Government officials, including President Ranil Wickremasinghe and Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe during his two-day fact-finding mission on alleged political interference in cricket administration. He also met with SLC officials and some of former administrators.
In April, the Minister set up a five-member Technical Consultative Committee headed by Sanath Jayasuriya to advise the Minister of Sports, Ministry officials, and the National Sports Council on all matters relating to cricket in Sri Lanka.
After Sri Lanka made a first-round exit at the World Cup a few months after lifting the Asia Cup, the Sports Minister appointed a committee to inquire into alleged incidents that occurred during the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. The committee made a number of recommendations including the suspension of SLC’s registration and a complete audit. The audit, which was recently presented to the Parliament, has highlighted various financial and procedural irregularities and had recommended to institute legal action against those responsible.
Last year, Minister Ranasinghe also introduced several new regulations placing term limits and age limits, compromising the autonomy and independence of national sports bodies, including SLC.
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First capacity-building program under NCGG – SLIDA MoU concludes successfully
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the National Centre for Good Governance of India (NCGG) and Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA) was signed during the State Visit of President of Sri Lanka, H.E. Anura Kumara Disanayaka to India in December 2024 for training and capacity building of 1500 Sri Lankan civil service officers over a period of five years.
The first program under the MoU was successfully held at NCGG from 21 April to 02 May 2025, and was attended by 41 officers. Based on the request of the Government of Sri Lanka, the theme of the program was ‘digitization in governance’. The program featured a series of sessions focused on key areas such as digital service delivery, digital public infrastructure, financial inclusion through digital payments, and innovations in public grievance redressal systems. Senior officials and domain experts delivered presentations on flagship Indian initiatives in the digital domain, including Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, e-Office, GeM, Aadhaar, PM Gati Shakti, among others.
At an interaction session with participants in the inaugural program organized on 08 May 2025 at SLIDA, the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, H.E. Santosh Jha underscored that capacity building is an important pillar of the development cooperation between the two countries, with Sri Lanka being among the largest recipients of scholarships and capacity building initiatives offered by India. He highlighted that, demonstrating India’s continued commitment to enhancing capacity-building opportunities for Sri Lankans, Prime Minister of India had announced additional training avenues to 700 Sri Lankan citizens annually during his recent State visit. In that context, the High Commissioner said that the participants in the first NCGG-SLIDA programme also represented the first set of Sri Lankan nationals to receive training as part of the significantly enhanced capacity-building endeavour of India that will now benefit 1000 Sri Lankans annually.
The interaction session was also attended by Secretary, Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, Mr S. Aloka Bandara; Director General of SLIDA, Mr A.V. Janadara; senior officials and faculty members of SLIDA; among others.
In view of the highly positive feedback from the participants in the inaugural NCGG-SLIDA program, based on request from SLIDA, a second program on the same theme under the MoU is now being planned for another batch of around 40 officers for early June 2025.
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First capacity-building program under NCGG – SLIDA MoU concludes successfully
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