ICC suspends Sri Lanka’s cricket membership

New Delhi, Nov 10: The International Cricket Council (ICC) Board has suspended Sri Lanka Cricket’s membership with immediate effect due to government interference in administration, which had been in tumultuous waters for the last week. It added that the conditions of the suspension will be decided by the ICC Board in due course.

The huge development comes just a day after Sri Lanka’s campaign in the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup in India came to an end with a five-wicket defeat to New Zealand in Bengaluru. In the tournament, Sri Lanka won two while losing seven games to end their campaign in ninth place, with its qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy in jeopardy as they are out of the top eight teams in the points table.

In the meeting held on Friday, the ICC said in a statement its Board “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.”

Incidentally, on the day Sri Lanka’s campaign in the Men’s ODI World Cup came to an end, its parliament unanimously passed a resolution, calling for the sacking of the SLC Board.