Sri Lankan Court Reinstates 'Sacked' Cricket Board Officials

image-loo4rf7vSri Lanka have been knocked out of the ICC CWC 2023 [AP Photo]

In a respite for sacked Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) officials, Sri Lanka's Court of Appeal has overturned the sports minister's decision to sack the board over Sri Lanka's poor showing in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in India. 

The court ordered the reinstating of all officials and employees who were fired by the state government, with a full hearing will take place soon, with the board being restored for two weeks.

SLC President Shammi Silva filed a petition on Monday, questioning minister Roshan Ransinghe's knee-jerk decision over sacking the board and appointing an interim committee led by former captain Arjuna Ranatunga.

As per New Indian Express, a court official confirmed the same, about the judge's decision.

"The restoring of the board is for two weeks, when the court will hear the case again."

Meanwhile, the government has also appointed a high-level cabinet committee to discuss the " outstanding issues" within the board. 

Sports minister Ranasinghe has been at loggerheads with SLC for the past few months over allegations of financial discrepancies and corruption, brining the downfall of Sri Lanka's cricket. 

The 1996 World Cup winners have managed just two wins out of eight matches and are out of the competition, however, a place in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is still at stake, for which they will need to win their final match. 

Ranatunga, who was appointed interim chief, had earlier expressed a desire to clean up SLC and bring in new reforms and a healthy environment for players to play cricket across different age-group and First-Class levels.