SLC says President Silva made 'fervent appeal to ICC to make exception' for international cricket participation

Earlier in the month, SLC was suspended by ICC following a political slugfest in SL after the introduction of an interim committee led by Arjun Ranatunga by the Sri Lanka Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe, who also suspended the entire SLC board following a heavy loss to India in the Cricket World Cup and a disappointing tournament overall, which saw them win only two matches out of nine and also miss out on ICC Champions Trophy 2025 slot.

In the ICC Board meeting on Tuesday, it was confirmed that the funding to SLC will be controlled by the ICC and the ICC Board and Sri Lanka will no longer host the ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup 2024, which will now be held in South Africa.

However, they allowed Sri Lanka to play international cricket because of Silva's appeal to the board members.

"Participating in [the ICC board meeting on November 21] as an observer, the President of SLC, Mr. Shammi Silva, urged the ICC board to grant additional time for the Sri Lankan government to rectify the issue of political interference in cricket," SLC's release said.

"However, the ICC Board, taking cognizance of similar suspensions imposed by World Rugby and FIFA in response to political interference, concluded that ample time had already been afforded to the Sri Lankan government to address and rectify the issue. Consequently, the ICC board confirmed the suspension of Sri Lanka Cricket," SLC's release added.

"However, pursuant to SLC President Shammi Silvas's fervent appen to the Members, the ICC Board has carved out an exception permitting Sri Lankans to compete internationally in bilateral and ICC events, despite the suspension," SLC release stated.

According to ESPNcricinfo, the SLC officials themselves requested the ICC for a suspension to "force Sri Lanka's sports minister Roshan Ranasinghe to back down in his attempts to replace the board with an interim committee." (ANI)