Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) suffered a big jolt on Friday as the International Cricket Council (ICC) suspended the board with immediate effect due to the interference of the Sri Lankan government.
“The ICC Board met today and determined that Sri Lanka Cricket is in serious breach of its obligations as a Member, in particular, the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and ensure that there is no government interference in the governance, regulation and/or administration of cricket in Sri Lanka”, the ICC said in a press release.
From a disastrous Asia Cup 2023 final to a disappointing World Cup 2023 campaign and now a suspension, the Sri Lankan cricket has been going in a downward spiral from last 2 months.
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However, the Sri Lanka cricket has been going through the downs since 2015 after the retirement of Kumar Sangakkara.
A country, who won the ODI World Cup in 1996, played in two consecutive WC finals in 2007 and 2011 and won the T20 WC in 2014, couldn’t see the same success after the retirement of their senior players. The team’s only glory in 8 years came in 2022 with the Asia Cup triumph.
Timeline of Sri Lanka cricket turmoil:
August 2015 – Kumar Sangakkara calls time on his 15-year international career.
Sri Lanka struggled to find stability in their team composition, particularly in the Test format. They went through several captaincy changes.
August 2015: Angelo Mathews was appointed captain.
July 2017: Angelo Mathews resigned after team’s humiliating loss against Zimbabwe.
July 2017: Sri Lanka appointed Dinesh Chandimal as Test skipper and Upul Tharanga as limited-overs skipper.
January 2018: Angelo Mathews re-appointed as limited-overs cricket.
September 2018: Angelo Mathews sacked as limited-overs’ skipper after Sri Lanka’s exit from Asia Cup in UAE.
September 2018: Dinesh Chandimal appointed skipper in all-formats.
February 2019: Dinesh Chandimal sacked after Sri Lanka’s Test debacle
April 2019: Dimuth Karunaratne appointed as skipper.
May 2021: Sri Lanka sack and drop Dimuth Karunaratne from ODI setup.
May 2021: Kusal Perera appointed as ODI skipper.
July 2021: Kusal Perera sacked as ODI skipper.
July 2021: Dasun Shanaka appointed as ODI captain.
Sri Lanka Cricket’s off field issues also played a huge role in team’s downfall. The players dispute and financial crisis left the Sri Lanka cricket in tatters.
May 2021: The senior Sri Lankan players refused to sign new contracts that saw their payments cut by up to 40 per cent.
The board was forced to drop the players and it resulted in more poor performances.
Match fixing, assault allegations led to Sri Lanka cricket falling further down.
February 2019: Former skipper Sanath Jayasuriya was banned for two years after admitting to violating the anti-corruption code.
April 2021: Former Sri Lankan cricketers Nuwan Zoysa and Dilhara Lokuhettige banned for six and eight years, respectively for corruption.
June 2021: Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka & Niroshan Dickwella were suspended and sent home for breaching the bio- bubble during Sri Lanka’s tour of England.
November 2022: Daushka Gunathilaka arrested in Sydney for an alleged assault on a woman.
September 2023: Sri Lanka suffered embarassing loss after getting bundled out for 51 in Asia Cup final.
November 2023: Sri Lanka suffered humilating defeat after getting bowled out for a mere 55 in a 358-run chase.
7 November 2023: Sri Lanka government sack the entire board after accusing the officials of corruption and misuse of funds.
9 November 2023: Sri Lanka Court reinstates sacked cricket board
10 November 2023: ICC suspends Sri Lanka Cricket with immediate effect because of government interference in SLC administration.
