SL cricketers not found guilty of match-fixing – Harin
Reiterates plans to reform SLC Constitution through parliament
Sri Lanka’s National cricketers are not among those currently in danger of being found guilty of match-fixing charges by the International Cricket Council (ICC) Anti-corruption Unit, Sports Minister Harin Fernando said yesterday.
The ICC has been investigating what it labelled as ‘serious allegations of corruption’ for over a year now, and while two individuals, former cricketers Sanath Jayasuriya and Nuwan Zoysa have been formally indicted on corruption charges by the ICC, no active cricketers have been implicated.
“I met an ICC Anti-corruption official recently, and was informed that as of now none of the current National cricketers are involved in match-fixing allegations, yet. He said he would address this with the team during the limited over series in South Africa, but also that they would not hesitate to act if any of them were found guilty, even if it was right before the World Cup,” Minister Fernando said.
“Players do not have reason to suspect that their teammates are involved in match-fixing,” the Minister said, seemingly addressing the concerns among many analysts that there is a growing sense of distrust among the team, as a result of the yet to be completed ICC investigation, which was contributing to the poor results on the field.
“There is no lack of talent but there is a lack of trust between the players and that’s the problem. I am sure if we fix those issues we can bring the team to a point where we can challenge for World Cups,” he also said.
ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES
The Minister said he had also asked the cricketers not to concern themselves with the administrative issues at Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) which he hoped would end with the elections on February 21.
Whether the elections will take place on that date will depend on the Court’s view on a petition handed over by disqualified candidates Mohan de Silva and Ravin Wickramaratne yesterday, challenging the recommendations of the Minister’s Advisory Committee to hear appeals related to the elections.
Following the committee’s recommendation for them to be qualified, the two candidates - who served in the previous Thilanga Sumathipala-led committee and are seen as an extension of that administration - had reportedly asked the Minister to reconsider and allow them to contest.
However the Minister said he was duty bound to accept the recommendations.
“I have to respect and work according to the recommendations of the advisory committee. If not, the only thing I can do is to stop the elections and appoint an interim committee. But doing that will put Sri Lanka at the risk of suspension [of its membership status] by the ICC and I had no other alternatives,” the Minister said.
If the Minister maintains this position, it is likely that the case filed by de Silva’s group will be heard on Monday, with the hope of a resolution before next Thursday’s election.
NO PERSONAL AGENDA
The Minister also denied any personal agenda in disqualifying the two candidates, claiming that he had no preference for who is elected to run the sport, as long as those officials were willing to work with for the development of the sport.
“I have not done something out of a personal vendetta against either party. I believe that there needs to be several changes implemented at SLC, after the elections on February 21, and I trust whoever is elected will work with me. We have taken all steps after consulting the Attorney General and it is after that that we had to take these decisions,” Fernando said.
The Minister also said he would forge ahead with his plan to amend the SLC Constitution, long seen as a pivotal flaw in the local cricket system that encourages politicisation and corruption within the sport’s governing body.
He said he would act on the recommendations of former cricketers Mahela Jayawardane, Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan and Sidath Wettimuny, which will be formulated into a new constitution and implemented through an act in parliament.
“I hope to present it to the cabinet. It’s something that Mahela, Sanga [Kumar Sangakkara], Murali [Muttiah Muralitharan] and Sidath Wettimuny have prepared. I will present it to parliament in the next two weeks after which I will present it to parliament. If it’s passed and implemented then there won’t be these [administrative] issues anymore. I have discussed it with other political parties as well, and they have all shown an interest in it being presented and passed in parliament and clean up the game. If it’s implemented then I’m certain anyone with a genuine interest in the sport will be able to contest,” he also said.
IMPROVEMENT IN RESULTS
The Minister also said that he would expect an improvement in results, or he would have to readdress the future of National Head Coach Chandika Hathurusingha.
“There needs to be a return on investment. So if we are paying a coach Rs. 8 million as salary, and the winning rate is only 35 per cent there is a problem. We need to implement something where we tell him that if he can’t bring this up to 80 per cent then we need a different approach with it,” he said.
Addressing issues outside of cricket, the Minister said he would ensure that office bearers are elected to the 28 National Sports Associations that either do not have elected officials, have an interim body governing the sport, or are due to conduct elections this year.
He also said steps were being taken to develop nine stadiums across the country to be, hopefully, brought under the management of the Sugathadasa Stadium officials.
“We’re looking at developing a ground in each province with good facilities including synthetic running tracks and swimming pools. That’s the only way athletes can come to Colombo and be able to compete in similar conditions and be confident,” the Minister said.
While stating that the appointment of a sports ombudsman was imminent, he also said that there were plans to develop a ‘super-pool’ of athletes who are medal prospects for the country.
“Especially in terms of this year’s South Asian Games, we want to send these athletes a few months early to get acclimatised with the conditions,” the Minister said.