ICC suspends Sri Lanka cricket's membership with immediate effect

Nov 10, 2023

The ICC have released a statement, announcing that they have suspended Sri Lanka cricket's membership with immediate effect on November 10.

The decision from the cricket governing body comes a day after Sri Lanka ended their World Cup 2023 campaign with a thrashing at the hands of New Zealand. The 1996 World Cup champions had won only two matches in the nine games they played in the 2023 edition.

However, the issues plaguing Sri Lankan cricket extend beyond poor performance on the field. The cricket board was accused of widespread corruption, leading to its dismissal by the Sri Lankan government. Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe sacked the entire cricket board following a humiliating 302-run defeat against India in the World Cup 2023. Arjuna Ranatunga, the 1996 World Cup-winning skipper, was appointed as the chairman of the interim board, which includes three judges.

This would then be followed by a resolution in the Sri Lankan parliament on November 9 which was passed unanimously, calling for the sacking of the country's cricket governing body, with both the ruling and opposition parties supporting it.

Now, the ICC has announced that they have suspended Sri Lanka's membership with immediate effect as they have breached its obligations as a member. The conditions of the suspension will be decided by the ICC in due course, but it could mean that Sri Lanka may miss the major ICC events, starting with the 2024 World Cup.

"The International Cricket Council (ICC) Board has suspended Sri Lanka Cricket's membership of the ICC with immediate effect."

"The ICC Board met today and determined that Sri Lanka Cricket is in serious breach of its obligations as a Member, in particular, the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and ensure that there is no government interference in the governance, regulation and/or administration of cricket in Sri Lanka."

"The conditions of the suspension will be decided by the ICC Board in due course," read the statement from the ICC.