Coaches and selectors in the dark as impasse between top guns drag
The current turmoil at Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is likely to have far-reaching consequences as it has left the national team, coaching staff and the national selectors in the dark over the future of their employment.
Sri Lanka will still host both Zimbabwe and Afghanistan, as planned, in January. But there are fears that the deep uncertainty surrounding these three key stakeholders may send the national team crashing further.
The players returned home from India on November 10 with just two wins out of nine World Cup games. Little has been done since then to guarantee the job security of the national team’s coaching staff and national selectors.
SLC is firmly focused on getting out of the current impasse with Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe and has challenged in the Court of Appeal his action to remove them from office.
Even before Sri Lanka ended its disastrous World Cup campaign, the Sports Minister appointed a seven-member interim committee headed by Arjuna Ranatunga. The Appeal Court stayed this. On Friday, it further postponed the petition till Monday. Filed by SLC President Shammi Silva, the case was called before Justices Sobhitha Rajakaruna and D.N. Samarakoon.
Selectors and the coaching staff came under heavy criticism from the Sports Minister just days before he installed an interim administration to run cricket. He even demanded the resignation of the selectors, holding them responsible for the poor World Cup results. And he publicly exposed the salaries of coaching staff and questioned their commitment, leaving them in a state of uncertainty.
However, SLC has not announced its plan for the national team, the coaches or the selectors as they continue to battle a barrage of off-field issues stemming from the Ministry of Sports.
“No one knows what’s going to happen and it’s very difficult to make any plans at this point in time. This uncertainty has to be end sooner than later. If not, cricket will suffer,” an SLC source said.
“If you look at it, there’s little over five weeks left before the Zimbabwe series but no one is certain of their jobs–the Board, the coaches and the selectors. How can anyone plan in such a scenario?” the source questioned.
Even though they can compete at international competitions, both in bilateral cricket and ICC events, Sri Lanka is currently suspended by the International Cricket Council for breaching its obligations as a Member–in particular, the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and without government interference.
The funding to SLC will also be controlled by the ICC which shifted the U-19 World Cup from Sri Lanka to South Africa, a huge blow. The ICC suspension came after the Sports Minister appointed an interim committee to run cricket.