As the Sri Lankan cricket team is being threatened with more humiliation on the current tour of England, a Recommendation for change in the sport’s outdated governance that provides a repository for corruption has apparently ended up as someone’s responsibility yet to be implemented.
The Recommendation compiled by a government Sub-Committee headed by Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabry is currently confined to a file when in reality it should have been implemented by now while Sri Lanka Cricket officials continue to be firmly rooted and entrenched living on borrowed time more than a year after it was finalised and two months after it was officially accepted by the Cabinet.
The Contents, Recommendations or what has to be implemented in the Report could not have entered a more decisive stage at a time when Election Manifestos of Opposition political parties aiming to form a new government after an election on September 21 have stated that an end to corrupt activities at SLC is one of their priorities.
The government too is running out of time and none could be more pushy or alarmed than Minister Subry who has had the best insight into the activities at SLC since 2018.
“Changes should ensure that cricket administration isn’t dominated by a few individuals who exploit resources for personal gain.
“The current (SLC) administration has misused resources as personal property which must be rectified”, Minister Sabry told the Sunday Observer in an interview eight weeks ago.
The Sunday Observer now learns that the Report of Sabry’s findings and recommendations was last in the hands of Sports Minister Harin Fernando who was removed on a landmark Court order for crossing sides from Opposition to government last month.
Minister Sabry has also noted in his Recommendation of 2023 the disharmony among coaches and players that has contributed to the Sri Lanka team’s failure rate outweighing its success rate.
He has also highlighted that a drastic requirement for an end to corruption and a new beginning or spring at SLC should start with the chopping down of 147 votes that can be manipulated by seekers of positions at SLC while discouraging men and women of integrity from participating in the affairs of cricket.
