ICC Lifts Ban From Sri Lanka Cricket With Immediate Effect

image-lrxm92anSri Lankan players during a series against ZIM in January 2024 (AP)

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has lifted the ban from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). Back in November, i.e., the apex body had imposed a ban on Sri Lanka’s cricketing council for breaching certain obligations while being an ICC member.

ICC effectively lifts ban from Sri Lanka Cricket

On November 10 last year, i.e., during the 2023 World Cup run in India, the ICC imposed a ban on SLC for breaching certain obligations. As per the ICC report, the SLC were handed a ban because the Sri Lankan cricket administration was found to have featured interferences from the country’s government.

A couple of weeks after imposing the ban, the ICC board decided that Sri Lanka can continue to compete in international cricket, be it in bilateral series or ICC’s multi-nation events. However, the apex body snatched away the 2024 Under-19 World Cup hosting rights from SLC, before handing them over to Cricket South Africa (CSA).

As it turned out, the apex body has now completely lifted the ban from SLC. The ICC confirmed their new stance on January 28 on their official website. The international cricketing committee stated that upon monitoring the entire situation since SLC’s suspension, they came to a conclusion that the Sri Lankan board is no longer breaching any ICC membership obligations.

Earlier in January, ICC CEO Geoff Allardice had caught up with Sri Lankan sports minister Harin Fernando and President Ranil Wickremesinghe to seek a better understanding of the political environment within the country since it was found to have interfered in their cricket administration.