Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) was plunged into chaos this week with heated exchanges between the most senior officials in the sport who are now threatening to rip SLC apart at a very crucial time, according to highly placed sources at SLC headquarters.

SLC President Jayantha Dharmadasa slammed Vice President Mohan De Silva in an official letter on Wednesday (10), calling him “childish” and accusing him of “being the alter ego of the Secretary Nishantha Ranatunge”.

The SLC President in his letter also accused SLC Secretary Nishantha Ranatunge of “deliberately violating the Constitution”, and saying that Mohan De Silva ‘deliberately allowed the Secretary’ to do so.

Loose at SLC’s

The fracas has been simmering for many months. But it came to a boil last week when Dharmadasa moved a motion through the SLC Executive Committee which clipped Ranatunge’s wings by affirming that executive powers are vested with the CEO according to the SLC Constitution, and that this must be followed. The Executive Committee approved the motion. However, all hell has broken loose at SLC’s Maitland Place headquarters, following this move.

Incredibly, just last week, SLC CEO Ashley De Silva officially denied that there was any rift between the top administrators, over this very same issue. However, the entire staff of the SLC is buzzing with the news of what has turned into a free-for-all at the top.

It is now patently clear that the SLC administration is bitterly divided into two camps, and the matter has come to a no-holds-barred fight.

There have been furious exchanges of e-mails between members of the Executive Committee, and many secret meetings as the various members jockey for positions on the two sides.

Dharmadasa in his letter also accused Mohan De Silva of “shamelessly looking the other way … when there was an attempt to harass two of our World Cup winning heroes, namely Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara by the Secretary.”

The SLC President has added that Mohan De Silva is “trying to safeguard the interests of an individual who at all times deliberately violated the provisions of the Constitution.”

Clipping

Dharmadasa’s broadside came after Mohan De Silva wrote to the SLC President and the CEO questioning the validity of the motion clipping Ranatunge’s wings, and saying that the motion needs to be discussed further by the Executive Committee.

He asked Ashley De Silva “not to mislead the staff” and urged him “not to embarrass the Executive Committee by trying to put the cart before the horse.”

The matter may even end up in Court. Shammi Silva, a longtime member of the Executive Committee has told Mohan De Silva in another e-mail that “If there is anyone who wishes not to accept the Executive Committee decision, they may take legal action and may obtain a verdict from Court as it is the apex body that could deliver a final ruling on such matters.

At a time when the country’s cricket team is riding high and looking forward to next year’s World Cup, it is now very clear that the sport’s administration is in chaos. It remains to be seen what impact this will have on the performance of the team. The coming weeks will tell.

Courtesy:Ceylon Today