The honey pot

Even the most optimistic of Sri Lankan cricket fans would have expected that this country will be permitted by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to conduct the Under-19 World Cup in this country as scheduled after we were last week suspended from membership of the world body. That was an obvious given and the bad news is now public that the tournament has been moved to South Africa. . It has been reported that four clubs have been paid Rs. 2 billion to upgrade their facilities for the tournament we’ve lost. This money was to be reimbursed by ICC but that will now not happen. Also, we have lost the USD 2.4 million fee that we were to be paid for hosting the tournament.

It is very well known all round that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has long been corrupt and all kinds of questionable elements have been trying to dip their greasy fingers into its coffers. While politics and politicians have been freely accused for the predicament that once high flying cricket in this country, which commands a vast following has sunk to at present, we must not forget that it was a politician, the late Mr. Gamini Dissanayake, who won us Test status in 1981.

We had been as associate member of ICC since 1965 and later got full membership. Since then there were highs (winning the World Cup in 1996) and lows like the recent debacle suffered in India. We also twice reached the World Cup semi finals and the public have long had high expectations of the team.

Cricket has also been good to the various stars this country has produced. Very many of them, with household names countrywide like Arjuna Ranatunga who skippered the World Cup winning team, Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardena, Aravinda de Silva, Muttiah Muralitharan and many more have become very wealthy given the big bucks that sports stars, not only cricketers, earn globally.

Today there are many formats of the game with, arguably, the 50 over one day matches being the most popular. But the shorter Twenty20 format also attracts its following and earns very big money. Many Lankan players are among the beneficiaries of the vast fortunes that international cricket generates.

Apart from the rich returns that not only the super stars, but also the other national players have been able to earn from the game, Sri Lanka’s entry into the international cricket arena and making a mark therein had also democratized a game once dominated by privileged schools and clubs.

Once upon a time it was almost unthinkable that a national team would not have included alumni from the big schools. But thanks to the money that cricket generated a great deal of talent had been found outside the cities with playing facilities being made more available countrywide. All that redounded for the good of the game in this country as well as giving its talented youth golden opportunities.

What is most pertinent at present is the current situation of Sri Lanka cricket in the light of the ICC suspension. Fortunately, the fact that we are not allowed to host the Under-19 tournament does not mean that we are not allowed to play in South Africa. Our boys have been intensively preparing for the tournament but will no longer have the advantage of playing before home crowds under familiar conditions. While no longer within the ICC umbrella, we can still make bilateral arrangements for international cricket. But what is important is to get the suspension lifted as quickly as possible and revert to the status quo.

No less than President Ranil Wickremesinghe went on record last week that legislation was urgently required to ensure that sports ministers do not interfere in the administration of, presumably, not only cricket but all sports. We have over the years seen different sports ministers, interfering for good or bad in sporting matters including selections.

A couple of weeks ago, parliament, by a resolution proposed by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and seconded by Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva unanimously resolved to remove “corrupt officials including the chairman of the Sri Lanka Cricket Board.” Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe, was widely applauded for wading into battle and gazetting a new interim committee headed by Arjuna Ranatunga to run SLC. But he was restrained by an interim order of the Court of Appeal. This matter, which triggered a rare attack on a judge under cover of the protection of parliamentary privilege, awaits final determination.

It is clear that the president and the sports minister are not in sync with what the latter is doing. This was demonstrated by the president’s reference to “interference” by the sports minister and the latter’s own reference to the choice being between “betting Shammi and Roshan Ranasinghe.” RW is looking at basing prospective legislative changes on a report by a respected retired judge.

He said in a television interview aired last week that he had apologized to Jay Shah of the Indian Cricket Board for his name being dragged into the cricket debate in the Sri Lanka parliament.

SLC Chairman Shammi Silva has been accused of canvassing the ICC to get Sri Lanka suspended and some letters in this connection brandished in parliament by the opposition leader have been given to the president. SLC has been a honey pot around which flies have long gathered. That is the public perception, What corrective action is available in the short term remains to be seen. Meanwhile, hopefully our cricketers will not be out in the cold.