Sri Lanka sports minister sacked over cricket crisis

COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s sports minister was sacked on Nov 27, hours after he accused President Ranil Wickremesinghe of trying to assassinate him over his moves to clean up corruption at the cricket board.

Officials said Roshan Ranasinghe was dismissed ahead of Nov 27’s weekly cabinet meeting, after he told parliament that Mr Wickremesinghe should be held responsible if he was killed.

“I fear I could be killed over my work to clean up the cricket board,” Ranasinghe told parliament, escalating a row with Mr Wickremesinghe, who had been at loggerheads with the minister over the running of Sri Lanka Cricket.

“If I am assassinated on the road, the president and his chief of staff will be responsible,” Ranasinghe said.

There was no immediate reaction from Mr Wickremesinghe, except confirmation from his office that the minister was dismissed.

Ranasinghe sacked the elected cricket board earlier in November after accusing office-bearers of gross corruption, a charge they have denied and are challenging in court.

He made the move after Sri Lanka’s humbling 302-run defeat by India at the Cricket World Cup.

The 1996 champions finished ninth in the 10-team group, ahead of only the Netherlands – the only non-Test playing nation at the tournament.

The cricket board is the richest sporting organisation in the otherwise bankrupt island country.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) suspended Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) earlier in November, saying it had failed to ensure there was no government interference in its affairs, violating the world body’s rules.

The ICC also stripped the nation’s hosting rights for the 2024 Under-19 World Cup and moved the tournament to South Africa.

The SLC said the loss of the tournament was a “big blow” to the morale of young players, and a substantial financial loss to the country.

“This decision is something that makes the entire nation sad,” said the board’s assistant secretary Krishantha Kapuwatte. “We have been working diligently in the past four months to prepare our venues for the tournament.”

Ranasinghe has refused Mr Wickremesinghe’s calls to revoke the sacking of the board.

Parliament backed the sports minister by passing a non-binding resolution three weeks ago, asking the cricket board to resign pending a forensic audit of its accounts.

Mr Wickremesinghe has appointed a committee to investigate the ICC suspension.

The cash-strapped country defaulted on its US$46 billion (S$61.5 billion) debt in April 2022 after running out of foreign exchange to finance imports of even the most essential commodities, making life a misery for the island’s 22 million people.

At the peak of 2022’s crisis, months of civil unrest forced the ouster of then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa when protesters stormed his residence. AFP, REUTERS