COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan central government on Friday appointed a “competent authority” to supervise day-to-day affairs of Sri Lanka Cricket, a day after after SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala’s term came to an end.
The competent authority is headed by the secretary of Sri Lanka’s sports ministry, Kamal Padmasiri.
In the meantime board elections for a new administration have been delayed following a court order, but sports minister Faiszer Mustapha told local media they would be held before 31 July.
Speculation was rife ahead of the announcement that the minister may opt for the appointment of an interim committee but a decision to appoint the competent authority was made despite appeals by Sumathipala to allow him and his officials to continue in their posts till elections are held.
Sumathipala was reportedly not given an extension due to his reluctance to allow government intervention in the running of the board’s affairs. It is worth noting that in 2015, SLC’s voting rights and pending payments were suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) due to their regulations which do not accept governments running a cricket board.
Addressing the question as to why he chose to appoint a competent authority as opposed to extending the term of the current ExCo, Mustapha told local media: “We have to act within a particular legal framework and as per the advice of the attorney general, I have chosen the most prudent approach.”
The minister also noted that he had chosen to appoint a competent authority as there was no legal provision to appoint an interim committee. “Unless a sports body has been suspended or revoked, an interim committee cannot be appointed,” he claimed.
“I believe in a democratic process, and that democratically-elected office bearers should run sports bodies. But, consequent to a writ application and an interim order, I am compelled to take this decision to ensure the continuation of Sri Lanka Cricket.”
Sumathipala had earlier in the day held a media briefing urging Mustapha to extend the term of the incumbent board until fresh elections could be held, citing several areas in which Sri Lankan cricket could potentially suffer as a result of not having a democratically elected body at the helm. “We held a special meeting last night, and we asked the sports minister to allow us to rectify the mistakes in the process and go ahead with elections, and to remain in charge until that point. It is to ensure the stability of SLC,” Sumathipala argued. “We have to look at the well being of the national team. There is a South Africa tour, Asia Cup, and England tour coming up. These next 4-5 months are incredibly challenging for us, and we require stability to carry out these responsibilities.”
“We also cannot approve our budget, or our audited accounts. It’s only once we approve our audit report that we could get our next set of funds from the ICC of roughly LKR7.5 billion, as the ICC could demote us to observer status. These are huge problems that need to be considered. When you go to Court asking for a verdict, we have to understand the consequences that verdict might bring us,” bemoaned Sumathipala.
When questioned as to whether Sumathipala’s concerns had been taken on board prior to the appointing of a competent authority to head SLC, Mustapha said the response of the ICC was secondary to the need to work within the ambit of local sports law.
