Corruption-tainted Sri Lanka Cricket has been served notice with time running out and absolutely nothing to hide behind or favour its continuous existence as the team also fell to its lowest depths this time on home soil losing to a new-look Indian team 3-0 hot on the heels of the T20 World Cup disaster a month ago.
Crusaders for change at Sri Lanka Cricket, most of whom are past players of high calibre track record together with men of integrity who served in its ranks, believe it is for the last time that a move has been made for a final clean up with the Cabinet of Ministers on Tuesday formally accepting and approving an investigative Report or Recommendation submitted by Supreme Court Judge KT Chitrasiri to go with another Report compiled by Foreign Minister Ali Sabry.
The Chitrasiri Recommendation amounts to an Act for change at Sri Lanka Cricket with its outdated Constitution coming under intense scrutiny as the reason for allegations of financial mismanagement and indiscipline, power abuse, nepotism, vote buying at elections of office-bearers and the absence of accountability that resulted in Parliament last year unanimously branding the administration of the sport corrupt and that it be brought under a government Authority.
Change in Sri Lanka Cricket’s Constitution means the sport will be governed by a board of directors with an unblemished record that would include former players and men of high standing integrity in corporate affairs among others.
Nothing more could have indicated the red line has been crossed than another public outburst for change this time directed at the Sri Lanka team that failed to chase down 137 to win the third T20 match against India at the Pallekele stadium on Tuesday night and were “all out’ for just two runs in the tie-breaker Super Over after the scores were deadlocked at 137.
The protest scenes were reminiscent of the 1980s with hooting and booing taking centre stage.
Going where no one had gone before, the team’s batting coach Thilina Kandamby said at a post match media briefing that enough was enough and no longer can a string of batting failures be tolerated.
“This is not the first time that these things have happened. We found solutions and decided to work to an agreed plan and the results are not forthcoming and we need to take some tough decisions,” Kandamby said after Sri Lanka lost the second match and with it the series before the worst set in.
Kandamby, who played in the only Under-15 World Cup ever in England, even questioned his own existence and that of the rest in the coaching staff.
“We can coach and tell the players what to do, but out in the middle they have to use their heads”, he said.
