Sri Lanka Announces Upul Tharanga As New Chairman of SLC Selection Committee
Upul Tharanga (Twitter)
Upul Tharanga has been named the new chairman of the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) selection committee, a position he will hold for the next two years. The announcement, made on December 12, revealed the formation of a four-member committee, including Ajantha Mendis, Indika de Saram, Tharanga Paranavitana, and Dilruwan Perera. The appointments were sanctioned by the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Harin Fernando.
Sri Lanka Cricket's official statement on social media stated:
"Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce a new ‘Cricket Selection Committee’ for a period of two years to select national teams. The appointment of the new committee, which comes into immediate effect, was made by the Honorable Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Harin Fernando."
Upul Tharanga, a former Sri Lankan cricketer with an illustrious international career spanning 14 years, retired in 2021. Tharanga had represented Sri Lanka in 31 Tests, 235 ODIs, and 26 T20Is. Notably, Tharanga and other cricketing figures faced fixing allegations related to the 2011 World Cup, but the charges were dropped in 2020 due to lack of evidence.
The selection committee's formation follows the dismissal of the entire Sri Lanka Cricket board by the former Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe, prompted by the team's significant loss to India in the 2023 ODI World Cup. This move came under scrutiny and led to legal challenges, resulting in the appointment of an interim cricket board, which was subsequently suspended by a court of appeal.
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