Thilanga jumps over ICC hurdle; next — cricket constitution
View(s):No English reader would ever say that they had not heard that famous call “It’s A Bird… It’s A Plane… It’s Superman”. Yes, we have lived with through our lives via comic strips and in the modern era, through pay channels with more than their fair share of re-runs also included – of course at a tidy cost.
Yes, when I saw the banner headline last week screaming about the proposed Interim Committee with a cast that read as impressive as Superman series, then I knew something was certainly brewing. The names ranged from Ana Punchihewa, Sidath Wettimuny to Kushil Gunasekera and others. Yet, as impressive as the super lineup was the baseline of the story. It spoke of the proposed constitutional change which once surfaced with the author tagline of none other than Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The new constitutionally elected cricket administration of Sri Lanka is barely five months old, but, from birth it is afflicted by this ‘Interim’ syndrome. From the inception it was Arjuna Ranatunga, former National cricket captain, who lost the contest at the AGM while seeking a seat as a vice president. Since this defeat, he has been fighting a duet with his parliamentary colleague, screaming that the elected-SLC President Thilanga Sumathipala has not obtained proper clearance to hold office.
At the same time, the other call was the constitutional reforms that former Interim Committee Chairman Sidath Wettimuny proposed with the blessings of Prime Minister Wickremesinghe.
ICC chief Zaheer Abbas (R) and Dave Richardson (centre) conducts a session
It was learned that the ICC even had left a window opened for an Interim Committee to give sufficient time to effect the constitutional changes and go in for a fresh AGM. Last Sunday’s interim whiff was a derivation of that.
Now the entire scenario is about to change. When the present cricket administration came into power on January 3, 2016, its new president, Sumathipala, wore a different hat. Even the Sports Ministry said it had obtained clearance for Sumathipala to contest at the AGM, with the understanding that he did not have the nod to attend any ICC meetings, as he had an ‘ethics’ issue which hung over his head since 2005. Until he cleared that hurdle he had no permission to attend ICC meetings, so his vice president Jayantha Dharmadasa was named as the ICC nominee for Sri Lanka Cricket.
Last week it was reported that Sumathipala has taken the bold step of jumping into the lion’s den. He was going to face the ICC ethics committee in a bid to clear his name which was tainted by his affiliation with the gaming industry.
Last Sunday, Sumathipala took the first step of the process, and meanwhile he obtained the green light to sit at the ICC table — a right that was taken away from him in 2005. Now he has been restored as a director of the ICC, with full powers, according to SLC secretary Mohan de Silva. Now he is no more the odd man out in the ICC pack. This means certainly the status quo also would change.
However even during the time of the AGM, the talk of a constitution change was in the air, and in his first official chat with the Sunday Musings, Sumathipala stated that a change of the constitution was in his agenda.
However, the prevailing system is deep-rooted. The cricket constituency knows about the system and like a worn old dress it sits well and comfortable on the body, but the emanating odour is not so pleasing. At the same time we are also quite aware that the cricket intelligentsia of this country are clamouring for a change of the present constitution and they feel that it is the only way that the game of cricket could be saved from total disaster.
An ICC meeting in progress
The Sunday Musings asked the SLC secretary about his thoughts about the changing the Lankan cricket constitution. De Silva is all for it. He said, “Yes, it is imperative that there should be a change in the cricket constitution. We will make a few changes in the initial stage. We will go ahead with some of the very important issues that cannot be kept on hold. Then at the same time there is going to be a change in the Sports Law very soon. I think through the change of the Sports Law there is going to be some significant changes. So, once the amendments to the Sports Law are in place we could implement the rest of the changes to the constitution. Even the clubs are now asking for the changes.”
The SLC secretary said that suggesting the changes is one aspect, but implementing them is another proposition. “We can have an AGM and propose the changes, but, at the same time we must, if we could, obtain the two thirds majority to get these approved.
“Yes, we have discussed certain changes and sometimes they may not be very popular decisions by the clubs. So, whatever changes that we hope to implement should be done with consensus.
“Some existing regulations do not deserve to be there and there is a need to streamline the process. However once a certain privilege is given it is very difficult to reverse the process. There may be legal issues like human rights and fundamental rights. So the process is going to be quite complicated”.
Now there are several questions that beg answers right now. Firstly, would the longstanding doubt about who is eligible to be at the ICC and who is not be put to rest? If the information is correct the name of Thilanga Sumathipala is there as one of the directors of the International Cricket Council.
But, that does not necessarily mean that Sumathipala has been served with a plate for him to eat to his heart’s content. Remember there will be more than a few pairs of eyes who will be watching what the Lankan cricket administration is up to.
Certainly the Arjuna Ranatunga-led critics would be vigilant and will not take any solution to cricket as gospel.
Then the reforms which were formulated by former Interim Committee Chairman Sidath Wettimuny are still very much alive. Those reforms have the backing of none other than Prime Minister Wickremesinghe.
At the same time, suddenly last week a proposal for a new Interim Committee came out of the blues and it did reach the headlines of newspapers. Then we are also aware that there is a disgruntled faction within the Sumathipala administration and they too are watching the proceedings carefully.
Then at this juncture, the cricket loving people want to see the cricket constitution changed and the right amendments put into effect.