The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday lifted the suspension imposed on Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) with immediate effect.
In a statement, the ICC announced the uplifting of SLC’s ban, stating, “The International Cricket Council lifted the ban on Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) today with immediate effect. The ICC Board has been monitoring the situation since the suspension and is now satisfied that SLC is no longer in breach of membership obligations.”
The SLC was suspended by the ICC following a political slugfest in Sri Lanka, in November last year. This came after the introduction of an interim committee led by Arjun Ranatunga by the Sri Lanka Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe, who also suspended the entire SLC board following a heavy loss to India in the Cricket World Cup. The tournament was disappointing for Sri Lanka, winning only two matches out of nine and missing out on the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 slot.
The ICC, in a meeting on November 21, decided that Sri Lanka could continue to compete internationally in both bilateral cricket and ICC events. However, the ongoing U19 men’s Cricket World Cup was moved to South Africa, which was initially set to be played in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka were allowed to play in international cricket following a “fervent appeal” from President Shammi Silva to the members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) board, requesting them to “carve out an exception” allowing the nation to play international cricket despite the suspension.
The SLC release stated, “However, pursuant to SLC President Shammi Silva’s fervent appeal to the Members, the ICC Board has carved out an exception permitting Sri Lankans to compete internationally in bilateral and ICC events, despite the suspension.”
Since the suspension, Sri Lanka only hosted Zimbabwe for a white-ball series in January.