Sri Lanka Cricket’s leadership has changed hands again. On Wednesday, board president Shammi Silva and the entire executive committee handed in their resignations, formalising a decision that – according to officials – had already been “rubber-stamped” at a special meeting the previous day.
“The president of Sri Lanka Cricket, Mr Shammi Silva, has tendered his resignation from the post, effective today,” the board confirmed in a brief media release. The note added that every office-bearer and executive-committee member had followed suit, with letters sent to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and sports minister Sunil Kumara Gamage.
Key facts first
• Silva out, executive committee out as well
• Government expected to install an interim committee, led by former MP Eran Wickramaratne
• Ex-captain Sidath Wettimuny and World-Cup winner Roshan Mahanama tipped for roles
• ICC anti-interference rules could complicate the hand-over
Why it happened
Behind the scenes, Dissanayake met Silva last Friday and, by most accounts, asked him to go quietly. Public pressure over alleged financial irregularities had been growing for months; so had calls from former players and administrators for a reset after a string of disappointing men’s-team results.
Silva’s seven-year spell
Silva came to power in February 2019, taking over from the equally controversial Thilanga Sumathipala. Initially tagged a Sumathipala ally, Silva won four straight elections – three without opposition – and never failed to remind critics that SLC remained “the richest sports body in the country” under his watch. The men’s and women’s sides both lifted Asia Cup trophies in that period, yet the broader picture was less flattering: ninth place at the 2023 fifty-over World Cup, early exits at the 2024 and 2026 T20 (20-over) editions, the last of which Sri Lanka co-hosted.
Even the headline appointment of Gary Kirsten as men’s head coach earlier this month did not take the heat off. Allegations of corruption – flatly denied by Silva – refused to go away, peaking late in 2023 when then sports minister Roshan Ranasinghe tried to sack the entire board. Court action put Silva back in charge, but the public row cost Ranasinghe his job and left scars all round.
What next?
The government wants Wickramaratne – a former banker, MP and long-time advocate of governance reforms – to steer an interim committee. Bringing in Wettimuny and Mahanama would, officials hope, lend cricketing credibility and speed up whatever structural changes follow. None of these appointments has been gazetted, though, and lawyers are already arguing about process. The SLC constitution states that a sitting vice-president should step up if the presidency falls vacant; bypassing that clause could invite a legal challenge.
Then there is the ICC. Its membership rules ban “government interference” in cricket administration, and state-appointed interim committees have led to suspensions before. Sri Lankan officials insist they will keep the global body informed, yet privately admit the situation is delicate. One ministry adviser shrugged: “It’s a tightrope – the house needs cleaning, but we can’t afford another suspension.”
Balancing the books
Silva’s supporters credit him for record broadcast deals at a time when the country was grappling with foreign-currency shortages. Detractors focus on cost overruns at stadium upgrades, opaque tender processes and heavy travel bills. The board’s 2025 audit – ordered by parliament – is due out later this year and may shed more light.
Player voices
Current squad members have kept their heads down, though one national player, speaking off record, welcomed the prospect of “fresh thinking” at the top. A former Test bowler, meanwhile, offered a note of caution: “Change is fine, but if politics comes in we could still be stuck.”
Bottom line
Silva is gone, at least for now, and an interim team looks inevitable. Whether that team can reform the board without provoking either the courts at home or the ICC abroad will decide how long this latest clean-up lasts – and, by extension, how quickly Sri Lankan cricket can focus on actually winning matches again.
