A high-level ICC team, including a top official from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, arrived in Sri Lanka amid growing uncertainty over the administration of the island nation’s cricket board after the government appointed an interim committee to run cricket in Sri Lanka.
According to sources, ICC vice-chairman Imran Khwaja is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka on Friday evening. He will be followed on Saturday by another ICC official who is also a senior BCCI official, sources said.
The visit comes at a sensitive time for Sri Lankan cricket after Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage appointed a nine-member interim panel on April 29 following the resignation of SLC president Shammi Silva and the executive committee.
The newly appointed body, named the Cricket Transformation Committee, will be headed by opposition politician Eran Wickremaratna and its members include former Sri Lankan captains Kumar Sangakkara, Roshan Mahanama and Sidath Wetimuny. Other members of the committee are Tushira Radella, Avanthi Colombage, Prakash Schaffter, Upul Kumarapperuma and Dinal Philips.
The interim committee’s primary task is to implement structural reforms within the SLC, which has repeatedly faced allegations of mismanagement and administrative instability over the years.
The reasons for the resignation of the executive committee led by Silva have not yet been officially disclosed, despite almost 10 months remaining in his term. However, the resignation came shortly after Silva met Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Sri Lankan media reports suggested that the government’s intervention was prompted by the declining performances of the national men’s cricket team in recent months. The executive committee reportedly decided to resign en masse at an internal meeting earlier this week, paving the way for an interim body to take over immediately.
In a statement issued after the resignations, Sri Lanka Cricket confirmed that Silva, along with officials and members of the executive committee, had resigned with immediate effect. The board also said the decision was formally communicated to President Dissanayake and Sports Minister Gamage.
The ICC delegation’s visit assumes significance after Gamage publicly stated that the Sri Lankan government had not made any formal communication to the ICC regarding the appointment of the interim panel.
Under the Sri Lankan Sports Act 1973, the Minister of Sports has the power to dissolve national sports federations and appoint interim committees. However, direct government interference in the functioning of elected cricket boards is generally considered to be against ICC regulations.
How the ICC views the latest development remains to be seen, although reports suggest the world governing body has already been informally briefed on the changes and has assured that elections to appoint a new administration will take place in due course.
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Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
15 May 2026 21:15 IST
