Sri Lanka revokes sacking of cricket board / Photo: R.Satish BABU - AFP/File
-
IoT Refrigerator Hacks Disrupt Blood Labs and Supermarkets Across Europe and US
-
South African election results renew debate over identity-based voting
-
Post-election pressures complicate US and Israeli decisions on Iran
-
South African voters report smoother local election but declining IEC trust
-
UN members approve talks on treaty protocol against environmental crime
-
Dolly Parton museum and Nashville hotel open after singer’s death
-
Family-run West Sussex beach café prepares for first winter season
-
George and Amal Clooney attend New York political-comedy reading
-
CT scans reveal health and burial clues from Egypt’s Braided Lady mummy
-
British buyers pay substantial premiums for period-home appearance
-
Oxford faces complaints over lecturer’s classroom attire
-
Thomas Markle released to house arrest after child-abuse-image charge
-
Kyren Wilson and John Higgins reach International Championship snooker final
-
Dawn of War 4 developers chose Adeptus Mechanicus for tactical variety
-
New Zealand and Tonga meet for place in Rugby League World Cup final
-
Italy face unbeaten South Africa in Turin Nations Championship match
-
Reports of unsafe AI-toy responses renew calls for child-safety rules
-
ChatGPT interactive interface feature tested across six custom tools
-
Juneau food network combines difficult supply routes with deep sharing traditions
-
Freshways milk-price cut deepens pressure on UK dairy farms
-
India climbs green-transition ranking after first emissions decline in 25 years
-
Labour and National remain virtually tied as New Zealand vote count advances
-
Trump names Stephen Miller as White House chief of staff after midterm losses
-
The Good Daughter adapts Karin Slaughter thriller with Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy
-
Restored Albanian tower houses anchor new rural tourism trail
-
Heavy-lift drone evacuates wounded Ukrainian soldier from frontline kill zone
-
Sonia Gandhi reflects on family tragedy and reluctant political career
-
Morrison says West Brom recovered after pressure from successive derby losses
-
Pope Leo begins three-country South American tour in Uruguay
-
Britain considers 2027 state visit for Ukraine’s Zelensky
-
Khawaja says entire Australia camp knew of 2018 ball-tampering plan
Sri Lanka revokes sacking of cricket board
Sri Lanka's sports minister on Tuesday revoked the sacking of the country's cricket board over allegations of corruption, in an effort to end its suspension by the International Cricket Council.
Harin Fernando's decision paves the way for the ICC to end its sanctions on the board for failing to prevent "government interference" in its administration of the game.
It is the latest episode in an affair that also prompted the sacking of Fernando's predecessor, who accused Sri Lanka's president of an assassination attempt.
"I signed a gazette to revoke the decision appointing an interim committee for Sri Lanka Cricket, aiming to lift our ICC suspension," Fernando posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Fernando said he had also asked the ICC for its "observations" on an audit report into alleged corruption by the board during the T20 World Cup last year in Australia.
There was no immediate comment from the ICC.
Fernando's predecessor Roshan Ranasinghe sacked the elected board in November after accusing office-bearers of gross corruption, a charge they have denied and are challenging in court.
The ICC suspended Sri Lanka as a result, saying the board had failed to prevent political interference.
The controversy over corruption in the board, the richest sporting body in the otherwise bankrupt nation, led to Ranasinghe's sacking late last month.
Ranasinghe had been at loggerheads over the running of Sri Lanka Cricket with President Ranil Wickremesinghe, refusing the latter's demands to revoke the sacking of the board.
- 'If I am assassinated' -
Ranasinghe told parliament last month that he feared for his life over his work "to clean up the cricket board".
"If I am assassinated on the road, the president and his chief of staff will be responsible," he had said.
After the ICC issued its ban in November, Sri Lanka lost the hosting rights for next month's Under-19 World Cup, which has since been shifted to South Africa.
The ICC has rules against political interference and has suspended Sri Lanka before.
This time Sri Lanka Cricket's elected members said the suspension cost the country a $2.4 million ICC grant to develop venues to host the 16-nation tournament.
The ICC ban still allowed Sri Lanka to proceed with bilateral tournaments, with Zimbabwe scheduled to visit Colombo next month for three ODIs and three T20 matches.
T.Samara--SF-PST