Sri Lanka Cricket’s Cricket Transformation Committee has published a progress report setting out the changes it has made since the Sports Ministry appointed it in April, including a drafted constitution now with the government and a significant restructuring of domestic cricket.
The committee will reduce the number of Major Tier ‘A’ clubs from 14 to 10 over two years, keeping 12 clubs in Tier ‘B’, Hiru News reported on Monday. The Tier ‘A’ league will also move from three-day to four-day matches, which the committee says will prepare players better for Test cricket.
A restructured calendar with scheduled rest periods is being introduced to reduce fatigue and injury risk, and work is under way to revamp the schools’ competition.
The constitution has not moved as fast as the rest
The committee says the constitution it drafted in two months has been submitted to the government, which is taking steps to present it to Parliament.
That is a compressed description of a long route. When the committee set out the sequence in detail on 31 August, the draft had reached the Legal Draftsman’s Department, and Cabinet approval, gazetting, presentation to Parliament, a Supreme Court determination and a return to Parliament all remained ahead of it. Three weeks later the statement still reports no Cabinet approval — the step that has to come first.
The delay carries a cost. Sri Lanka lost hosting rights to the inaugural ICC Women’s Champions Trophy in February 2027 over the dispute about government involvement in running the board, and SLC representatives remain barred from ICC board meetings.
Appointments and savings
Following an interview process led by former ICC head curator Andy Atkinson, a new national curator has been appointed and all international venue curators brought under direct employment. Former ICC umpires Lyndon Hannibal and Ruchira Palliyaguruge have been hired to raise officiating standards, and Dr Alex Kountouris, part of the 1996 World Cup-winning setup, is helping reorganise the sports medicine unit alongside a newly appointed sports psychologist for the men’s team.
On spending, the committee lists withdrawing from ongoing legal proceedings, removing redundant coaching and staff roles, and ending excessive consultant contracts. Savings are to be redirected to grassroots development and infrastructure, and to redress for clubs and employees it says were unfairly penalised by previous administrations.
The litigation line needs reading carefully
Withdrawing from proceedings only saves money on cases SLC itself is running. It does nothing about cases brought against the committee — and there is a live one. Former chief selector Pramodya Wickramasinghe filed a Rs. 75 million claim in the Commercial High Court two days ago over the termination of his appointment. The committee’s statement does not mention it, or quantify the savings it claims.
Note also that Hiru describes the body as an “Interim Committee”. Its own name, and the one used in its filings, is the Cricket Transformation Committee, chaired by Eran Wickramaratne.
