No ICC events for Sri Lanka for ten years

Sri Lankan cricket enthusiasts were in for a rude shock yesterday after it was revealed that the country will not be hosting any ICC events for the next ten years!

The ICC announced yesterday its global events from the period of 2016 to 2023 and while all Full Members of ICC were given some event, the only countries that were not allocated any events were Sri Lanka and Pakistan. While no cricket has been taking place in Pakistan since 2009 due to security concerns, it was surprising to see Sri Lanka being completely left out– not even an under-19 World Cup or a Women’s World Cup. Several of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) officials were unaware about the development yesterday while certain others played clever political games by distancing themselves from the development, but the fact remains that the political henchmen of SLC will have to answer some tough questions over the next few weeks. Sri Lanka were represented by Jayantha Dharmadasa and Nishantha Ranatunga at the recent ICC meetings in England. While Dharmadasa attended the ICC Board Meeting, Ranatunga attended the ICC Chief Executives’ Meeting, although he is not the CEO of the board. The World T-20 and the World Cup that Sri Lanka hosted in 2012 and 2011 were hugely popular among Sri Lankan fans and those events also helped the country to upgrade cricket infrastructure. Into the bargain, the events also were a boost for tourism in the country. England and India have got the major share of next few ICC events with the Board of Control for Cricket in India getting a World Cup, a World T-20 and a World Test Championship, ECB got the opportunity to host the inaugural Test Championship in 2017 and the ICC World Cup in 2019. Since 2000, Sri Lanka has become a favourite destination for ICC events. Sri Lanka hosted the World T-20 last year and were co-hosts of the ICC World Cup in 2011 alongside India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The country also hosted the ICC Champions Trophy in 2002 and the ICC Under-19 World Cups in 2000 and 2006.