ALAS! CRICKET IN SRI LANKA
A common question
Since of late, a hot topic of general conversations among Sri Lankans entails a sure question. What has happened to the game of Cricket in Sri Lanka? But, nobody seems to have a ready answer. There could have been a number of factors that brought this beautiful game to this abyss which Sri Lankan Cricket is in, at present. No doubt that Cricket is the most popular sport in Sri Lanka. Besides, Cricket in Sri Lanka has a sub-culture deep embedded in the society. Therefore, dismal performance of the national team is certainly a concern for all Cricket loving citizens of the country. In fact, this article would attempt to unravel and unearth the facts that contributed to this situation.
Game Changer
Sri Lanka won the World Cup in 1996 and shot to fame overnight. This famous victory made a colossal amount of money pouring into the coffers of Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) as it was known those days. This happened to be the origin of successive corrupt Cricket Administrators which have been the curse of the game. Sri Lanka Cricket is administered by three types of administrations namely Executive committee, Interim committee or a competent authority in accordance with the Sports Act of 1973. An Executive committee is an elected body which comes for a tenure of one year by elections. Minister of Sports exercises powers to dismiss an Executive committee and appoint an Interim committee instead for a period as determined by him. In contrary, a competent authority usually assumes duty only to cover the interim period between administrations before board elections.
Cricket Elections
After presidential and general elections, SLC board election is the most hotly contested election in Sri Lanka. All in all, it has only 147 votes from stake holders. 29 controlling clubs, 5 provincial associations, 22 district associations, Nationalized Services Cricket Association, Mercantile Cricket Association, Defense Services Cricket Association, Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association, Sri Lanka Universities Sports Association and State Services Cricket Association are eligible to vote at SLC election. The controlling clubs and associations have two votes while other minor clubs have only one vote to cast. The election is conducted through secret ballots. In some instances, SLC even sought the technical assistance of the office of the Commissioner of Elections to conduct the elections. Unlike other elections, the results are announced then and there for each post in the Executive Committee. When the results for all important position of the president is declared, there is a tendency to turn the tide for the faction fielded by him. Rarely, a person from other faction or party gets elected. In recent time, election of Mr. Kangadaran Mathivanan was such ‘one off’ incident. However, he opted to resign a couple of times, citing reasons that he was sidelined from the decision making process because he represented from the rival party.
Ugly Scenes in the run up to the elections
In the run up to the elections, all factions attempt to consolidate their positions. Specially, the faction led by bookie turned politician was unleashing all the dirty tricks from his sleeves. It is common knowledge among the Cricketing circles that he used to accommodate all the voters in his favor in a star class hotel two weeks prior to the elections. They were not allowed to move out of the hotel premises nor make calls to any outsider. They were provided with sumptuous food, unlimited foreign liquor and women. Unconfirmed sources say that sexual acts of some unreliable stake holders were filmed secretly and they were eventually blackmailed into voting for the candidate till the end of time. They were having gala time inside but under the strict travel restriction imposed on them. On the day of the election, they were escorted to the venue in a private vehicle sharply on time, without leaving a chance for them to mingle with others. This is how this person bribed his men to be loyal forever. Therefore, one insider of Sri Lanka Cricket jokingly said even if he fielded a dead body as a candidate, it would surely win.
Miniature Parliament
In fact, Sri Lanka Cricket is like a miniature Parliament. To win SLC elections, the main candidate makes a plethora of promises. They can be special grants, foreign trips, high positions in sub committees, favors for club players, sons or relatives, employment in SLC and so on. The aforesaid corrupt politician while in office never gave a chance for players from his rival clubs to emerge and escalate into national sides. That was the very reason why players keep changing clubs haphazardly even now. On the other hand, each and every player has a manager of their own. They are mainly ex-Cricketers of some repute and sometimes stake holders of SLC as well. These so-called managers are very influential so that they would go to any length to make sure that their players would don the national cap. When this happens, the real up and coming players would be ignored or sidelined. Therefore, the national squad always comprise of only the favourites. It is like a mafia in operation. The officials of this faction always remain in office, swapping positions. The reason being, SLC is a treasure trove for them. The fact is that there is enough of money in its coffers but no ownership. The Executive Committee has the powers to spend money as they wish. Each time, when an EXCO is in office, the officials go on a shopping spree. Main source of income for SLC is the award of Television rights. It is a multi-million dollar deal. When this is advertised for renewal, you could see the top brass of SLC flying to Dubai and Singapore and so forth. A few million dollars would be gone for a six at the end.
Changing the system
Mr. Sidath Wettimuny was once appointed to head an interim committee. He attempted to change the system with the government backing. Sri Lanka Cricket is just another sports association of Sri Lanka which is regulated by the Sports Act of the parliament. Only exception is that SLC has money in abundance. He proposed to enact a new act exclusively for SLC by the parliament, with a view to doing away with the corrupt officialdom. The faction in question somehow thwarted this act in connivance with then Minister of Sports. It never saw the light of the day. Similarly, 250 odd workforce at SLC is another concern. Out of 250 staff, only a few minor staff members and a handful of managerial cadre are permanent numbering only about 25. Even the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is on contract so that they could appoint a man of their favour at any time. As a result, the contractual staff have divided loyalties. Everybody has to go behind EXCO members to get their contracts extended at each time. CEO has no power to sign a cheque even. Can you expect a team from this system to perform? This is the naked truth behind SLC. The corrupt politician has been barred from contesting SLC elections but his team is still calling shots in the system. Over to you, Cricket fan.
The writer is the former Senior Manager-Human Resources & Administration for Sri Lanka Cricket for 8 years. During his tenure, he was privy to some sensitive information about the system. He reveals his story based on his own experience for the benefit of Cricket fans of Sri Lanka without prejudice to any interested party concerned.
