Upul Tharanga appointed chairman as Sri Lanka Cricket announces a new selection committee for two years

Sri Lanka Cricket on Wednesday (December 12) appointed a new selection committee led by former cricketer Upul Tharanga as chairman for a year two-year period. Apart from Tharanga, the four-member panel includes Ajantha Mendis, Indika de Saram, Tharanga Paranavitana, and Dilruwan Perera. The appointments were made by the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Harin Fernando.

Sri Lanka Cricket's official social media handle wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter):

“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 has previously represented Sri Lanka in 31 Tests, 235 ODIs, and 26 T20Is during his 14-year-long international career. The 38-year-old retired from international cricket in 2021.

Tharanga, along with a few other cricketers and selectors, were charged with allegations of fixing (mainly concerning the team selection in the final which they lost against India) during the 2011 World Cup but the Sri Lanka police lifted the charges in 2020 since no evidence was found in the case.

The remaining four members have also represented Sri Lanka in international cricket.

The appointment comes weeks after previous Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe sacked the entire Sri Lanka Cricket board following their 302-run loss against India in the 2023 ODI World Cup.

For the unversed, Roshan then appointed an interim cricket board led by the 1996 World Cup-winning skipper Arjun Ranatunga, which was suspended by a court of appeal following a writ by former Sri Lanka Cricket President Shammi Silva. Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe didn’t like Roshan’s move and rebuked him for his decision to replace the cricket board.

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ICC lifts ban on Sri Lanka Cricket

The International Cricket Council recently lifted the ban on Sri Lanka Cricket and allowed them to compete in both international and bilateral cricket.

The ICC, however, stripped Sri Lanka’s hosting rights for the 2024 U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, which has now been moved to South Africa.

The ban had come into effect as the ICC did not like the political intervention in the regulation of cricket administration in Sri Lanka.

On the cricket front, Sri Lanka registered just two wins in nine games at the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. They failed to finish in the top seven in the points table, which would have sealed an automatic berth for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.