Minister revokes sacking of Sri Lanka cricket board in bid to lift International Cricket Council suspension

Harin Fernando was previously Sri Lanka sports minister between 2018 and 2019

Sri Lanka's sports minister Harin Fernando has revoked the decision to sack the national cricket board (SLC) in the hope of ending its International Cricket Council (ICC) suspension.

The SLC was sacked last month following the team's poor World Cup run, where they finished ninth out 10 teams.

Although the decision was reversed by a court, the ICC suspended Sri Lanka due to government interference.

The country was also revoked as host of the 2024 Under-19 men's World Cup.

"I signed a gazette to revoke the decision appointing an interim committee for Sri Lanka Cricket, aiming to lift our ICC suspension," Fernando said on X, previously known as Twitter.

Fernando also asked the ICC for its "observations" on an audit report into alleged corruption by the SLC during last year's T20 World Cup in Australia.

Fernando's predecessor Roshan Ranasinghe made corruption allegations against the SLC in a statement to parliament last month and called for board members to resign.

Secretary Mohan de Silva quit and the board was sacked.

Ranasinghe replaced them with an interim committee chaired by World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga, though a court order essentially restored the original board after a two-week stay order was granted.

The ICC responded by suspending Sri Lanka and moving the Under-19 World Cup, which starts next month, to South Africa.

The Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe then sacked Ranasinghe at the end of last month.

Sri Lanka, coached by former England coach Chris Silverwood, won just two of their nine games at the World Cup, with their ninth-place finish also meaning they missed out on qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy.

England are due to host Sri Lanka in a three-Test series next summer.