Allegations galore on candidates for SLC cricket elections

By Dhammika Ratnaweera

Ever since the 1996 world cup triumph and its consequence of inflating broadcasting rights parted the two vice presidents of world cup winning Ana Punchihewa’s cricket administration, Sri Lanka cricket elections have always been a battle between Dharmadasa and Sumathipala trying to oust each other from cricket headquarters.

After 23 years, at a time when a degraded Sri Lanka cricket team narrowly qualified with the slimmest chances for the World Cup as a result of this continuous clash, now again Dharmadasa and Sumathipala are in frey to take control of Sri Lanka Cricket.

Guided by immediate past president Thilanga Sumathipala, the presidential candidate from his camp Mohan de Silva said that they want to offer an ailing country’s cricketing structure a right and a continuous direction to come out of the current dilemma.

On the other hand, Jayantha Dharmadasa, aided by World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga who too is at logger heads with Sumathipala, was very critical of the past administration under Thilanga Sumathipala of which he himself was a vice president and then resigned. Dharmadasa said that at a time Sri Lanka Cricket is called as the most corrupt cricket entity in the world by the game’s international body, he was looking forward to create a corrupt-free cricket administration for the country.

Responding to various allegations of corruptions in cricket administration, Mohan de Silva, who is also a past president said that there had always been these types of false allegations and so far none had been proven although they were investigated through auditors and presidential commissions. “It is a pity that there is an organized group always trying to break into take the cricket administration with false accusations. This has continuously harm country’s cricket. It is the game we love suffers at the end of the day” said de Silva, who is confident to continue forward the administration after Feb 21 elections.

Althougth, it is not very clear on the ultimate president candidate as outgoing Vice President and renowned cricket administrator Kangadaran Mathivanan, who is tipped to take the top seat from the Dharmadasa camp, Jayantha Dharmadasa said that his team is filled with qualified and reputed cricket administrators in Mathivanan, Ranatungas and Narangoda.

List of nominations accepted by Election Committee for the SLC Election

The Post of President
	De Silva Mahadurage Mohan Anthony Chulananda
	Dharmadasa Hewa Komanage Jayantha
	Mathivanan Kangadaran
	Silva Atulugamage Shammi Shiraj

Post of Vice President
De Silva Mahadurage Mohan Anthony Chulananda
Mathivanan Kangadaran
Ranatunga Arjuna
Silva Atulugamage Shammi Shiraj
Wickramaratne Raveen Udayapriya
Wickramasighe Pramodya

Post of Secretary
De Silva Mahadurage Mohan Anthony Chulananda
Dissanayake Bandula Thilak
Ranatunga Nishantha
Silva Atulugamage Shammi Shiraj

Post of Assistant Secretary
Dissnayake Bandula Thilak
Kapuwatta Chrishantha Theadore
Perera Kaluarachchige Gerard Hirantha
Wickramaratne Raveen Udayapriya

Post of Treasurer
Narangoda Eastman
Silva Atulugamage Shammi Shiraj
Wickramaratne Raveen Udayapriyantha
Wickramasinghe Nalin
Wickramasinghe Liyanage Lasantha Sadananda

Post of Assistant Treasurer
Rambukwella Lalith Mahinda Bandara Dissanayake
Senarath Sanjaya Sedara
Wickramasinghe Nalin