Sri Lanka sports minister hints at cricket board revamp after 2026 T20 World Cup debacle

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2 min readMar 5, 2026 07:33 PM IST

Sri Lanka's performances was despite them playing all their matches at home in Colombo and Pallekele. (AP Photo)

Sri Lanka may revamp its cricket administration in the wake of the men’s team’s dismal performance in the 2026 T20 World Cup. The country’s sports minister Sunil Kumara Gamage said that it is in discussion with the International Cricket Council (ICC) over transfering administration of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to an “interim committee”.

“Discussions are underway with the ICC (International Cricket Council) to hand over the administration of SLC (Sri Lanka Cricket) to an interim committee to rebuild the sport,” Gamage told reporters. Current SLC chairman Shammi Silva’s tenure is till May 2027.

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Sri Lanka Cricket had been suspended by the ICC in 2024 when then-sports minister Roshan Ranasinghe sacked Silva on allegations of corruption. It had led to the country losing hosting rights for the 2025 U19 World Cup, which was shifted to South Africa with the ICC citing government interference in the sport. “We can’t risk having a ban again from the ICC so must do everything in concurrence with the ICC,” Gamage said.

Sri Lanka lost all their Super Eight games to be knocked out of the tournament. They beat 2021 champions Australia in the group stage but then ended it by losing to Zimbabwe. Their exit from the tournament was confirmed when they lost to New Zealand by 61 runs, leading to angry reactions from fans in the stands which was seen in videos that went viral on social media. Sri Lanka’s performances was despite them playing all their matches at home in Colombo and Pallekele. Gamage said the government was keen to rebuild the game to the pre-2014 levels when Sri Lanka was a top international performer.

Sri Lanka won the 1996 World Cup, after which they were a formidable team in all formats for nearly two decades. They reached back-to-back finals of the ODI World Cup in 2007 and 2011 and reached the final of the T20 World Cup 2009, 2012 and 2014, winning the latter of those tournaments.

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