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World Cup: Sri Lanka Board Dismissed Due To India's 'Dafa 302', Work Completed Even Before The End Of The World Cup
After the crushing defeat against India, Sri Lanka has dismissed its cricket board. Not only this, the investigation has also been started for allegations of corruption. India had bowled him out for 55 runs, resulting in a 302-run defeat.
Sri Lankan Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe on Monday sacked the National Cricket Board, days after the humiliating defeat by India in the World Cup. Ranasinghe has been in financial turmoil for months over allegations of widespread corruption. The country's 1996 World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga has been appointed chairman of a new interim board, Ranasinghe's office said in a statement. The statement said- Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe has constituted an interim committee for Sri Lanka Cricket.
The new seven-member panel also includes a retired Supreme Court judge and a former board chairman. The move came a day after the board's second-highest official, Secretary Mohan de Silva, stepped down. Ranasinghe had publicly demanded the resignation of the entire board after Sri Lanka's 302-run World Cup defeat to hosts India last week.
Chasing India's 358 in Mumbai on Thursday, Sri Lanka was 14-6 at one point and were all out for 55, the fourth-lowest score in World Cup history. The defeat sparked anger among the people and police were deployed outside the board office in Colombo following fierce protests on Saturday. Ranasinghe had said that Sri Lankan cricket officials have no moral or ethical right to continue in office.
“He should resign voluntarily,” he said. He had earlier accused the board of being "traitorous and corrupt". Sri Lanka has to play Bangladesh on Monday and needs a mathematical miracle if they want to make it to the last four of the World Cup. Ranasinghe on Saturday wrote to the full members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) (which has rules against political interference in the game) asking for understanding and support.
In letters released to the Sri Lankan media, Ranasinghe said - that Sri Lankan cricket is surrounded by complaints of players' disciplinary issues, management corruption, financial misconduct, and allegations of match-fixing. The minister was forced by the ICC to withdraw the three-member panel it had appointed last month to probe alleged corruption at the board, as it was deemed political interference.
There was no immediate reaction from the ICC on Ranasinghe's move. Sri Lanka has not won the World Cup since 1996, with Ranasinghe blaming the board for the decline in standards. Another cabinet minister, Prasanna Ranatunga (brother of the newly appointed interim board president), told Parliament in August that the 1996 victory was the biggest curse for our cricket. He said that after 1996, money started coming into the Cricket Board, and with it also came people who wanted to steal. Harin Fernando, a former sports minister, introduced tougher anti-corruption laws in 2019 after he said the ICC considered Sri Lanka one of the most corrupt cricket nations in the world.