The Sri Lankan government today officially expressed its regret to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah after former skipper Arjuna Ranatunga expressed his outrage towards him. A Sri Lankan minister named Kanchana Wijesekara admitted that they cannot go on blaming others for the shortcomings in their institutions.
A few days ago, during an interaction, Ranatunga stated:
"Because of the connection between SLC officials and Jay Shah they (the BCCI) are under the impression that they can trample and control SLC. Jay Shah is running Sri Lanka Cricket. SLC is being ruined because of pressure from Jay Shah. One man in India is ruining Sri Lankan cricket. He is only powerful because of his father, who is India’s home Minister."
"We as a Government express our regret to the Asian Cricket Council Chief Jay Shah" - Sri Lanka government
Speaking in the parliament on November 17th, Friday, ministers Harin Fernando and Kanchana Wijesekara stated that it's unacceptable to point fingers at the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President regarding their struggles, saying, as quoted by Newswire:
"We as a Government express our regret to the Asian Cricket Council Chief Jay Shah. We cannot point hands at the Asian Cricket Council Secretary or other countries for the shortcomings of our institutions. It is a wrong assumption."
Harin Fernando, who is the tourism minister of the country, expressed concerns over the ICC banning Sri Lanka cricket. With Sri Lanka set to host the U19 Cricket World Cup in January,
"If the ICC ban is not lifted no one will visit Sri Lanka for the tournament. Sri Lanka will also not earn a single penny from the cricket tournament."
Sri Lanka's forgettable 2023 World Cup campaign:
The Island nation also performed poorly in the 2023 World Cup, managing only 2 wins in the tournament, defeating the Netherlands and England. They suffered a setback midway through their campaign as regular captain Dasun Shanaka missed out due to injury, prompting Kusal Mendis to step up in the role.
With Sri Lanka finishing 9th in the points table, they also missed out on automatically qualifying for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
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