Sri Lanka Cricket is currently carrying the weight of two ICC sanctions within a decade — voting rights stripped and funds placed in escrow in 2015, then a full suspension in 2023 that cost the country the right to host the Men’s Under-19 World Cup.
According to a report by Financial Times Sri Lanka, talks between ICC Deputy Chairman Imran Khwaja, BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia and the government-appointed Transformation Committee were described as cordial and very productive — a characterisation that carries particular weight given how much is riding on the ICC’s assessment of whether this transition constitutes genuine reform or interference by another name.
The message the committee took into the room
Khwaja spent several days in Sri Lanka gathering information as the ICC determines its formal response to the sweeping changes at SLC. During that visit he also met Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, whose government removed the previous SLC board headed by Shammi Silva before installing the current nine-member committee. The ICC has issued no official statement on the change of administration.
“We told them that we are not here on a witch hunt or anything like that. We are here to put the cricket right and get the constitution going. The ICC was very happy with our approach,” sources close to the Sri Lanka Cricket Transformation Committee said, as quoted by Financial Times Sri Lanka.
Credibility at the centre of the ICC conversation
The committee’s composition has been its most deliberate argument for independence. As previously reported by cricexec, the nine-member body was assembled with former cricketers Kumar Sangakkara, Sidath Wettimuny and Roshan Mahanama, corporate professionals, two lawyers, and former opposition Member of Parliament Eran Wickramaratne as Chair — a selection specifically designed to signal distance from direct state control. That construction appears to have registered with the ICC delegation.
“The ICC has come to understand that the Committee comprises people of certain standing with a lot of credentials in each area who want to see the country’s cricket put back on the right track to success,” the sources added.
According to ESPNcricinfo, the ICC has a track record of reprimanding SLC over perceived government interference — suspending the board in 2023 over extensive state involvement in its administration and freezing payments in 2015 following the appointment of a previous government-backed interim committee. Against that backdrop, Wettimuny said the committee was hopeful the ICC would continue treating SLC as a regular Full Member.
Tone, transparency and what the committee committed to
The committee entered the ICC discussions with a defined posture — full transparency and an explicit commitment to compliance as the organising principle of everything it does.
“The talks were confidential but it was cordial and very productive. They told us a few things which are very confidential but we are happy with the discussions. We have to fall in line with the ICC rules and regulations. We told the ICC that we are totally transparent with nothing to hide,” the sources noted.
The constitutional reform process is the committee’s central deliverable and its most complex one. Parliamentary procedures, legal drafting capacity and the involvement of the Attorney General’s office all introduce variables that make rigid scheduling impossible — a reality the committee has been open about.
“We didn’t want to commit ourselves to any sort of time frame because once the new constitution is drafted, it has to go to Parliament and it can be debated, Third Reading, and so on. All that is going to take time. We have got the Attorney General and Legal Draftsman on board and it all depends on their load of work. We are going by the Chitrasiri Committee report,” the sources said.
Governance overhaul and competitive rebuilding as a single mandate
As previously reported by cricexec, the Transformation Committee was constituted with a dual mandate — rewriting SLC’s governance architecture and restoring the national team’s competitive standing.
“Our immediate priority is a total overhaul of the governance framework at SLC. The cornerstone of this effort will be the implementation of the new constitution, ensuring it serves as a robust, modern foundation for the sport,” Wickramaratne had said in an official statement.
The committee has written to SLC’s full membership — associate, affiliated and controlling clubs alongside district, employment and provincial cricket associations — inviting written proposals across governance, financial accountability, broadcast and commercial development, grassroots development and high performance. Submissions close on 5 June, giving the constitutional drafting process its first concrete deadline.
“We will focus on establishing the structures, world-class facilities, and incentive models necessary to empower our national teams. Our goal is to enable our players to consistently deliver world-class performances and elevate Sri Lanka back to the top tier of international rankings,” he added.
