‘Lanka burning on Diwali’ – Fans react as International Cricket Board suspends Sri Lanka Cricket’s membership

Sri Lanka’s performance in the ODI World Cup 2023 has been disappointing, to say the least. The team’s early exit from the group stages of the tournament has left fans and stakeholders alike in a state of shock and dismay.

The fallout from the poor performance was immediate and severe. On Monday, Sri Lanka’s Sports Minister, Roshan Ranasinghe, took the drastic step of dissolving the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board. In its place, an interim committee, headed by Arjuna Ranatunga, was installed. However, this decision was short-lived as Sri Lanka’s courts issued a 14-day stay order on the gazette that dissolved the board, effectively reinstating it a day later.

This series of events led to the affairs of Sri Lanka Cricket being debated extensively in the country’s parliament, highlighting the deep-seated issues within the administration of the sport in the country.

Sri Lanka’s cricket catastrophe: The World Cup debacle and subsequent suspension!

In a shocking development, the International Cricket Board has now suspended Sri Lanka Cricket with immediate effect. The suspension comes in the wake of what the Interim board has termed as “extensive government interference” in the SLC administration.

In a statement, the International Cricket Board said, “The International Cricket 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 International cricket board Board in due course.

The news of the suspension has sent shockwaves through the cricketing community in Sri Lanka. Fans, already reeling from the team’s poor performance in the World Cup, are understandably upset and angry at this latest development.

The coming days and weeks will undoubtedly be crucial for Sri Lanka as it navigates through this crisis. It remains to be seen how the board, the interim committee, and the government will respond to the International Cricket Board’s suspension and work towards resolving the issues plaguing Sri Lankan cricket.

See how fans have reacted:

https://twitter.com/TasneemKhatai/status/1722995151822315546?s=20

https://twitter.com/IAmGrootX18/status/1722995266284884305?s=20

https://twitter.com/PKMKB_93K/status/1722994407585063133?s=20