Kumar Sangakkara on committee to oversee Sri Lanka Cricket overhaul

Kumar Sangakkara joins a new 9-member Transformation Committee to oversee Sri Lanka Cricket. This follows the mass resignation of the previous board, including President Shammi Silva. The panel aims for a complete governance overhaul and on-field success.

Legendary cricketer Kumar Sangakkara is among nine members appointed to a Transformation Committee set up to oversee Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), following the government's decision on Wednesday to remove the previous office bearers.

On April 29, SLC President Shammi Silva resigned from his post with immediate effect, the board confirmed in an official statement. According to the SLC media release, the entire leadership structure of the board, including office bearers and members of the Executive Committee, has also stepped down as part of the decision.

Committee Composition and Leadership

Sangakkara stands out as the most prominent former cricketer in the panel, which also includes Roshan Mahanama and Sidath Wettimuny. However, the committee is largely composed of individuals from corporate, legal, and political backgrounds, with former Member of Parliament Eran Wickramaratne named as its chair. Wickramaratne, who is associated with Sri Lanka's main opposition party, Samagi Jana Balawegaya and also has a corporate background, is reported to have resigned from his political roles within the party to take up this assignment. He is no longer serving as a Member of Parliament.

Stated Priorities: Governance and Performance

"I am privileged to lead a nine-member committee of individuals with impeccable integrity and expertise," Wickramaratne said, before outlining two primary aims of the Transformation Committee in a statement, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

"Our immediate priority is a total overhaul of the governance framework at SLC," he said.

The Committee's second priority is to ensure "excellence on the field" Wickramaratne said. "We will focus on establishing the structures, world-class facilities, and incentive models necessary to empower our national teams. Our goal is to enable our players to consistently deliver world-class performances and elevate Sri Lanka back to the top tier of international rankings."

Full List of Committee Members

SLC's new committee members: Eran Wickramaratne (politics/corporate), Roshan Mahanama (cricket/corporate), Kumar Sangakkara (cricket/business), Sidath Wettimuny (cricket/corporate), Prakash Schaffter (corporate/cricket), Avanthi Colombage (corporate), Thushira Radella (corporate), Upul Kumarapperuma (law/politics), Dinal Phillips (law). (ANI)

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