Kumar Sangakkara appointed to run Sri Lanka Cricket amid turmoil

Rajasthan Royals head coach Kumar Sangakkara has been appointed to a Transformation Committee responsible for overseeing Sri Lanka Cricket. The Committee has nine members, most of whom are from outside cricket. Roshan Mahanama and Sidath Wettimuny are the only cricketers besides Kumar Sangakkara.

Former Member of Parliament and opposition politician Eran Wickramaratne has been appointed chairman. The Committee was appointed after the Sri Lankan government removed the previous office-bearers of the SLC on Wednesday. The Committee contains only one woman out of its nine members.

Kumar Sangakkara an individual with impeccable integrity and expertise- Wickramaratne

Eran Wickramaratne read out an official statement stating the aims of the Committee. "I am privileged to lead a nine-member committee of individuals with impeccable integrity and expertise."

Wickramaratne is understood to have left his political positions and joined the Committee as a corporate figure instead.

Transformation Committee set to overhaul governance

Wickramaratne went on to outline the major priorities of the Committee in his statement. "Our immediate priority is a total overhaul of the governance framework at SLC," he said. "The cornerstone of this effort will be the implementation of the new consitution, ensuring it serves as a robust, modern foundation for the sport."

The old SLC constitution has been criticised for being counter-productive and granting too much power to non-cricketing institutions. There are two lawyers on the Committee as well, which suggests that the SLC Constitution could be rewritten by the Committee.

Wickramaratne then said that the second priority was excellent performances on the field. We will focus on establishing the structures, world-class facilities, and incentive models necessary to empower our national teams. Our goal is to enable our players to consistently deliver world-class performances and elevate Sri Lanka back to the top tier of international rankings."

ICC yet to react

Normally, the International Cricket Council does not take kindly to government interference in board matters, but is yet to react to this issue.

In 2023, the ICC had suspended the SLC at the request of then board President Shammi Silva. Silva had alleged that the country's sports minister was interfering in board matters. Sri Lanka also lost hosting rights to the 2024 Under-19 World Cup.

In 2015, the Sri Lankan government had suspended the board's leadership and put an interim committee in place. At the time, the ICC reduced Sri Lanka to an observer member and held their funds back.

Wickramaratne went on to say that his Committee was ready to comply with whatever guidelines the ICC puts out for them.

"[The Committee is] committed to absolute compliance with International Cricket Council regulations while embedding transparency, anti-corruption, and professionalism into the organisation's DNA," he said.

Pressure on Shammi Silva to leave

In February-March of this year, Sri Lanka failed to make the semi-final of the T20 World Cup, which they co-hosted.

Following that, there was public pressure on the ousted SLC President Shammi Silva to vacate his position. People criticised the systemic imbalance in the SLC as Silva won three consecutive terms as President despite Sri Lanka being inconsistent in the field.

Earlier this month, Sri Lanka appointed renowned coach Gary Kirsten as their head coach in an attempt to overhaul their on-field results. The Transformation Committee and new Head Coach Kirsten will first take charge of the ODI series in the West Indies.

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