ICC restores Sri Lanka’s membership two months after suspension

DUBAI (Agencies): Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has been reinstated as a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) after a two-month suspension, the ICC said on Sunday. The sport’s governing body suspended the SLC on Nov. 10 for government interference after Sri Lanka’s ministry of sport dismissed the SLC board and replaced it with an interim committee following the country’s poor performance at last year’s 50-over World Cup. “The (ICC) board have been monitoring the situation since the suspension and are now satisfied that SLC are no longer in breach of membership obligations,” the ICC said in a statement. The SLC had filed an appeal against their suspension with the ICC on Nov. 21. On the same day, the ICC announced that Sri Lanka were free to participate in international cricket but moved the U-19 World Cup 2024 out of the country. On Nov. 27, Sri Lanka’s sports minister Roshan Ranasinghe was sacked from his position by the country’s president Ranil Wickremesinghe. Ranasinghe’s successor Harin Fernando overturned the interim committee and restored the SLC board. Earlier this month, a sub-committee was appointed by Wickremesinghe to look into recommended structural reforms in the country’s cricket board in line with other test-playing nations. Sri Lanka host Afghanistan in a one-off test match starting on Friday.