The International Cricket Council has suspended the Sri Lanka Cricket. They have issued a press release saying this suspension will be implemented immediately. It is further stated that the Sri Lanka Cricket Association had to do this due to the unnecessary interference of the government.
If you look at it from a different angle, they are forcing the country’s identity.
The government of any country has the full right to intervene in the issues happening within its own country. According to that, the parliament was allowed to interfere strongly against the Sri Lanka Cricket administration. Also, not only the government but also the ordinary people started protesting against the cricket administrators in front of the Sri Lanka Cricket at Maitland Place.
Sri Lanka lost seven matches
Why did this happen? The Sri Lankan cricket team suffered a big setback in the World Cup. The selection of players for the team needs to be at a satisfactory level. The players sustained injuries during the tournament. After two games, the leadership of the team also changed.
Therefore, sports fans were apprehensive.
The climax of these events happened when Sri Lanka was shamefully defeated by India. After that, there was a significant backlash against Sri Lanka cricket in Sri Lankan society.
In the past, the activities of the Sri Lanka Cricket were greatly criticised. The ordinary people and the government stood against the cricket administration.
All Sri Lankans are sad
The country’s people are upset because the national cricket team lost all the matches they faced and got thrown out of the World Cup. Sri Lanka won only two matches in this World Cup.
Ultimately, they also lost their participation in the Champions Trophy in 2025. In the upcoming match between Australia and Bangladesh, Sri Lanka can only hope to participate in the Champions trophy if Bangladesh loses significantly to Australia.
At this time, it is not surprising that the International Cricket Council has suspended Sri Lanka cricket. It is to be expected. Due to the incidents that have occurred between the Sri Lankan Cricket administration and the government in the last few days.
The mental condition of the Sri Lankan team participating in the matches in India went down. Therefore, the competition expected by the International Cricket Council was destroyed. It is well-known that this impact in terms of money is enormous.
Economic plan and cricket
When organising any tournament, some kind of economic plan is also implemented. Unsurprisingly, the organisers try to get maximum income from the tournament. Therefore, the best teams must be at the top by the end of the tournament. Otherwise, if the best teams are defeated by the weak teams and thrown out of the tournament, the end of the tournament will be less attractive.
That’s what happened when the Sri Lankan team was thrown out of the tournament. Not only Sri Lanka but also England were thrown out of the tournament.
However, the suspension of Sri Lankan cricket by the International Cricket Council is a loss as well as a big gain. Now, the government can take corrective measures.
The next quarterly meeting of the International Cricket Council will be held in Ahmedabad from November 18 to 21. Before that, the government should be ready. This meeting will decide what action will be taken against Sri Lankan cricket.
Legal action against administration
It is essential to take legal action against the accusations against the Sri Lanka Cricket administration over the past period. The sport’s constitution should be amended very soon, and the right people should be appointed to the cricket body. Also, it is mandatory to do this in order to work with transparency. By doing this, efforts should be made to win the trust of the International Cricket Council again.
Cricket is something that belongs to the people of Sri Lanka. It should not be subject to a group of people in certain situations. Like other sports, the government has the full right to make decisions about cricket. The sports minister is directly related to the cricket.
One example is that a team can only participate in a tournament with the minister’s approval when selecting the national team. Looking at it like that, according to the ICC, it is also an unnecessary interference of the government in the game of cricket.
If cricket is to be governed independently
If cricket is to be governed independently, the cricket body itself should be able to select the team as it wishes. Also, cricket institutions should be able to run the game without government funding.
National cricket is not just international matches. It should be run from the school level. Government money is spent on local cricket in the country. The school cricket system is mainly based on government money. All things, including playgrounds, belong to the government. International players are not created by the cricket institute but by the schools.
Think for a moment: if the government stop giving government properties for cricket, cricket players will not be produced. Also, suppose international stadiums built at the government’s expense are not allowed to be used for cricket. In that case, the cricket administrators must play their cricket elsewhere in other countries.
Without government help
Therefore, it is only possible to maintain the game of cricket with the government’s help.
However, the Sri Lanka Cricket Board is acting very arbitrarily. There is a suspicion that the Sri Lanka Cricket Board has requested the International Cricket Council to suspend cricket in Sri Lanka.
The media also reported on the close relationship between the Cricket Council and the president of the Cricket Institute, Shammi Silva, as well as the relationship between the president of the Asian Cricket Federation, Jay Shah.
However, if the Cricket Council imposed this suspension due to the influence of Shammi Silva, it is not a good thing. If Shammi Silva has done that, it is a grave mistake he has made. It is definitely destroying Sri Lanka cricket. Therefore, punishing him is mandatory.
Today, cricket has become highly corrupt, not only in Sri Lanka but other countries. Cricket carnivals like IPL have opened up much space for fraud and corruption.
Cricket is no longer a gentleman’s game. It has become a money-driven organisation. It should be seen if the International Cricket Council has also become a victim of this. The International Cricket Council is there for the advancement of international cricket and should not be an organisation operating according to specific individuals and powerful countries.
After Zimbabwe
Sri Lanka becomes the second country to be suspended by the International Cricket Council. Earlier, they also suspended Zimbabwe. They did so because the government influenced the game.
The cricket situation in Sri Lanka is worse than the situation in Zimbabwe. Due to the rift between the government and the cricket body, the game is completely paralysed.
Zimbabwe is not a very talented team. Giving full membership to Zimbabwe is a grave mistake the International Cricket Council made. Similarly, giving full membership to Ireland could have done better for cricket.
Sri Lanka Cricket is not such a weak team. It is a strong team that has won many trophies, including the World Cup. It was a strong member of the cricket world before 2018. But today, it has fallen very low. It is a fact that the whole of Sri Lanka accepts that the Sri Lanka Cricket administrators are solely at fault for this. That is why even ordinary people have rallied against the cricket institute.
Despite this, there is no way that the Cricket Council can reconcile the suspension of Sri Lanka cricket. But if the Cricket Council did so, it is everyone’s responsibility to support Sri Lankan cricket.
The whole responsibility lies with the government. That is because cricket belongs to the people of Sri Lanka.
The control of all sports associations should be through the Ministry of Sports.
Cricket has also been controlled under the Sports Act since 1973. But more than these laws are needed to control modern cricket. Therefore, it is essential to change the sport’s law and the cricket constitution as soon as possible. Otherwise, it will never be possible to save Sri Lanka cricket.
