ICC lifts ban imposed on Sri Lanka Cricket

The ICC Board has been monitoring the situation since the suspension and are now satisfied that SLC are no longer in breach of membership obligations.

New Delhi: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday lifted the suspension imposed on Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) with immediate effect. ICC released a statement to announce the uplifting of SLC’s ban which read, “The International Cricket Council lifted the ban on Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) today with immediate effect.

The ICC Board has been monitoring the situation since the suspension and are now satisfied that SLC are no longer in breach of membership obligations.

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In November 2023, SLC was suspended by ICC following a political slugfest in SL after the introduction of an interim committee led by Arjun Ranatunga by the Sri Lanka Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe, who also suspended the entire SLC board following a heavy loss to India in the Cricket World Cup and a disappointing tournament overall, which saw them win only two matches out of nine and also miss out on ICC Champions Trophy 2025 slot.

The ICC Board met on November 21 and decided that Sri Lanka could continue to compete internationally both in bilateral cricket and ICC events.

But, the ongoing U19 men’s Cricket World Cup was moved to South Africa, which was initially set to be played in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka were allowed to play in international cricket following a “fervent appeal” from President Shammi Silva to the members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) board members to “carve out an exception” that allowed the nation to play international cricket despite getting suspended.

“However, pursuant to SLC President Shammi Silvas’s fervent appen to the Members, the ICC Board has carved out an exception permitting Sri Lankans to compete internationally in bilateral and ICC events, despite the suspension,” SLC release stated.

Since the suspension, Sri Lanka have hosted Zimbabwe for a white-ball series, earlier this year.