It was reported in the media that the Minister of Sports has called for a report from SLC over the Asia Cup debacle. The Minister has simply revealed his game plan by this course of action. As widely speculated the Minister will keep fiddling while Rome burns dictated by his political boss’s. So, eat your hearts out cricket fans, this caravan is going to happily roll on from one disaster to another until the Asia Cup debacle is replicated at World Cup 2019. The General Elections will soon follow and the Minister, and this government will reap the repercussions for their fiddling and in-action.
When the masses of this country look at the choices before them you do not know whether you ought to be laughing or crying. Just mull on the catalogue of boo-boos listed below.
BOO-BOO NO. 1: Where else in the world will a government with a Minister in charge of sports allow the Chairman of the Natinal Selection Committee to carry out match referee duties for the ICC in the on-going Women’s WC qualifiers while our national cricket team was being roasted by minnows in world cricket. Can such important key positions of state be devalued to a point while the Minister in charge turns a blind eye?
BOO-BOO NO. 2: Sri Lanka is perhaps the only country in the world where team selections are encompassed under a Sports Law through an Act of Parliament. Such legislation was primarily introduced during the 1970’s by far thinking respected parliamentarians of that era to ensure there was a level playing field across the sports circuit. One critical factor embodied in this piece of legislation is the “independence” of the selection process across all 60+ disciplines in existence today. There are clear guidelines on what processes need to be followed and what responsibilities are vested in the National Selection Committee of each sporting discipline.
Cricket is the only sport that allows the coach to be an official member of the National Selection Committee in clear violation of the Sports Law. Can the Minster of Sports who himself is a legal luminary continue to ignore such violation of the laws of the land as a member of a responsible cabinet that has taken oaths to respect and uphold the laws of the land?
BOO-BOO NO. 3: It is becoming blatantly clear by the day that the support staff hired by the former Ex-Co of SLC headed by Sumathipala to take them to 2019 WC glory is devoid of skill and credentials. The personnel were bandied around with press conferences and the lot when first hired creating an aura of unassailability. Sadly, a few months down the road the pistons have failed to fire, and the inadequacies have been exposed. There is also visible evidence to suggest that this coaching team is meddling too much with the techniques of our free scoring batsmen and ruining their careers in the process. In such a scenario, the choice before the Minister is simple. He may allow this bus to trundle along from pitfall to pitfall until it hits a wall at the WC 2019 or wipe the slate clean by bringing in meaningful changes and resuscitate the campaign for WC 2019.
BOO-BOO NO. 4: The appointment of a Competent Authority instead of an Interim Committee of knowledgeable emissaries. The knee jerk decision making, the lunacy of arranging T20 tournaments before an ODI series, attempts of fraud all point towards the incompetence and ineptitude of the people in charge. It is futile for anybody in his right mind to expect the cricket to be administered efficiently under such an environment. The Minister can choose to change this situation overnight by appointing an interim (or management) committee as recommended by the ICC as well.
The direction and the road map ahead cannot get simpler and clearer than this. The country waits with bated breath watching if the Minister will continue to fiddle while Rome burns, or carries out his ministerial responsibilities upholding the pledges and obligations vested in him as a people’s representative.
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