by Rex Clementine

The Cricket Transformation Committee met the press yesterday and offered a firm assurance that the new constitution for Sri Lanka Cricket will be in place before November, with all democratic avenues available for concerned parties to challenge it in court.

According to committee head Eran Wickramaratne, the draft constitution has already been forwarded to the Ministry of Sports and subsequently to the relevant legal authorities to iron out any flaws.

Once the draft reaches Cabinet, it will be gazetted, with provisions allowing interested parties to challenge the legality of the new constitution in court.

SLC elections have been bitterly contested over the years and, at times, have resembled a political battlefield rather than a process to elect cricket administrators. There have been instances where members of prominent clubs were suspended for voting against the wishes of their clubs, while armed gunmen have even entered the Board premises at Maitland Place to intimidate voters. Such incidents eventually forced authorities to shift cricket elections to a neutral venue.

The influence wielded by paper clubs and certain district cricket associations during elections has also come under the microscope. The new constitution is expected to address many of these long-standing concerns and Wickramaratne gave a categorical assurance that ballot rigging will not be tolerated this time around.

“There will be no room for rigged elections. That’s for sure. There is a democratic process and people will be allowed to challenge the new constitution within those frameworks,” Wickramaratne said.

Another major talking point at the media briefing was the inaugural Champions Trophy. It was revealed that although the International Cricket Council has indicated that the tournament could be taken away from Sri Lanka as an elected body is not currently running the administration, officials remain hopeful that the country will retain the hosting rights.

There have been suggestions that India could host the tournament should Sri Lanka lose it. Even in such an eventuality, Sri Lanka would not miss out on participation, with the top six teams qualifying for the event and Sri Lanka currently placed sixth in the ODI rankings.

“I am made to understand that the decision will be taken at the next ICC meeting, which will be held in November. By then, we should have cleared many hurdles and the new constitution would have been passed by Parliament and dates should be fixed for the election,” Wickramaratne told the press.

“We have kept the ICC informed about what has been happening on a regular basis and we are hopeful that we will be able to host the Champions Trophy,” he added.

Former captain Kumar Sangakkara, who is also a member of the committee, was present at the briefing and was asked about creating more opportunities for budding Test cricketers.

Sangakkara stressed that Test cricket needed to be protected in the years ahead, but pointed out that supporters too had a role to play by demonstrating their appetite for the game’s traditional format.

He added that concerns over the future of Test cricket had been raised even at ICC level and that measures were being explored to safeguard the longer format of the game.

Kandy Kings emerged champions of the Sri Lanka Tennis Premier League 2026, defeating Jaffna Flamingos in an exciting final at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association courts.

‎The four-day tournament, held from August 27 to 30, was title sponsored by CL Synergy Power and powered by Wilson.

‎Kandy Kings secured the championship with a 35-26 points victory over Jaffna Flamingos in the final, with several closely contested matches deciding the outcome of the inaugural league-style competition.

‎Savini Jayasuriya gave Kandy Kings an early advantage when she defeated Janali Manamperi 7-5 in the opening singles encounter.

‎Jaffna Flamingos, however, hit back in the second singles match through Pakistan’s No. 1 national player Muzammil Murtaza, who overcame Sri Lanka’s No. 1 national player Thehan Wijemanna 6-4 in one of the most anticipated matches of the final.

‎Kandy Kings regained momentum in the girls’ Under-15 contest as Navya Banagala defeated Samaira Fernando 6-4.

‎The Kandy team further strengthened their position in the mixed doubles, where Mineth Nawarathne and Tuvini de Alwis overcame the Jaffna pairing of Aravind Fernando and Janali Manamperi.

‎The championship was eventually sealed in the deciding doubles encounter, with Sri Lanka’s top-ranked player Thehan Wijemanna joining Mineth Nawarathne to beat Aravind Fernando and Muzammil Murtaza 6-3, helping Kandy Kings complete a memorable triumph.

‎Several outstanding performers were recognised at the conclusion of the tournament. Yuhansa Peiris of Weligama Warriors was named the Most Valuable Women’s Player, while Jaffna Flamingos’ Muzammil Murtaza received the award for Most Valuable Men’s Player.

‎Navya Banagala of Kandy Kings was adjudged the Most Valuable Girls’ Player, while Damsath Peiris of Jaffna Flamingos won the Most Valuable Boys’ Player award.

‎Jaffna Flamingos’ Janali Manamperi was also presented with the Wilson Fair Play Award.

‎Kandy Kings finished the tournament as champions, while Jaffna Flamingos had to settle for the runners-up position after an impressive campaign that took them to the final.

The inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy, scheduled for February 2027, will be moved out of  Sri Lanka with the SLC set to be stripped of hosting rights. Cricinfo has confirmed that the six-team event will be played at a different venue in the same window, and it is likely to be held in India. The new hosts will be confirmed at the next ICC board meeting in October.

Sri Lanka have lost the right to stage the tournament, which was due to be their second ICC event in a year after they also co-hosted the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup, because of government interference in their board. The SLC has an interim administration, called the Transformation Committee, which was put in place by the Sri Lankan government and will oversee major board changes including to the constitution.

The ICC does not recognise politically appointed administrations and SLC representatives have not been at ICC board meetings since the Transformation Committee was put in place.

The change in venue could significantly impact the Sri Lanka side, who only qualified for the event by virtue of it being held in their country. The competition is limited to the top six teams on the ICC rankings and, as of the rankings update on Saturday, Sri Lanka are currently seventh. Australia, England, India, New Zealand and South Africa make up the top five. West Indies are sixth and would have originally missed out but if Sri Lanka do not qualify, then the Caribbean could sneak in.

This will be the second time in three years that Sri Lanka have lost out on an ICC event. In 2023, the 2024 men’s Under-19 World Cup was taken away from them  for the same reasons and moved to South Africa.

In any case, while the Transformation Committee is in charge, SLC’s electoral processes stand suspended. The Transformation Committee’s official task is to reform that very electoral system, and the Sri Lanka Cricket constitution in general. According to the country’s laws, this can only be done through parliament.

The Transformation Committee has said it has produced a fresh constitution which is expected to be taken up in parliament over the next few weeks. Members of that Transformation Committee told Cricinfo that it expects for SLC elections to take place before the end of 2026, so long as the parliamentary process runs smoothly.

(Cricinfo)