Sri Lanka Cricket
Formerly the Board for Cricket Control in Sri Lanka (BCCSL), Sri Lanka Cricket is the governing body for cricket in the Island nation. The governing body renamed themselves Sri Lanka Cricket in 2003 which is the national apex body for administration and development of cricket in Sri Lanka. The body is registered since 1975 under the Ministry of Sports, Sri Lanka unless like BCCI who is still the private body in India. The body also takes care of the women’s cricket too in the Island nation.
#Sri Lanka Cricket: History
When cricket was brought to Asia by the colonial power, the British, it spread to the islands of Ceylon too. Though it is believed that cricket made its landfall in 1800, the official records mention the word “cricket” in a journal of 1832. The sporting action started soon after the publishing of the journal in 1832. The first match was played between Colombo Cricket Club and 97th Regiment in 1833. Despite the sentiment for cricket growing strong in Sri Lanka, it took a while for the body to get organized. Because of the delay, Sri Lanka Cricket played their first-ever international fixture in the 1975 World Cup. In 1981, the International Cricket Council awarded both the board and the team with the test recognition.
#Tournaments held by Sri Lanka Cricket Board are as follows:
- Premier Trophy
- List A Premier Limited Overs Tournament
- SLC Super Provincial Tournament
- Inter-provincial Cricket Tournament
Apart from the aforementioned tournaments, Sri Lanka Cricket is also organizing the Lanka Premier League for the first team in 2020 in order to identify the talents for the international circuit. In 2017/18, a Super Four Provincial Tournament was also held in order to bring the players from the rural areas to the national level.
#Sri Lanka Cricket: President
At present, Sri Lanka Cricket is headed by Shammi Silva, the former domestic cricket player in Sri Lanka. Shammi Silva previously featured for Colombo Cricket Club. An excellent sportsperson, interested in several sports apart from cricket, has handled the chairmanship of the Colombo Gymkhana Club in the past. Shammi Silva has managed the Sri Lankan Squash Team in the past which is helping him in carrying the duties of the Sri Lanka Cricket Board. He still continues to be the president of the Colombo Gymkhana Club apart from being the Sri Lanka Cricket President.
#Sri Lanka Cricket: Headquarters
Sri Lanka Cricket Board’s headquarters is situated at Colombo in a prime location. The area in which Sri Lanka Cricket Headquarters is situated is known as Maitland Palace. Maitland Palace hosts different sports offices too, including Badminton and Rugby bodies. The cricket headquarters is situated in front of the Sports Ministry office at Singhalese Sports Club. It is one of the tourism attractions of the island country.
#Sri Lanka Cricket: Secretary
The current secretary of the Sri Lanka Cricket is the former international cricketer Bandikulasuriya Mahaguruge Angel Mohan de Silva who is also known as Mohan de Silva. The right-arm bowler is at the helm since 2016 and has performed brilliantly to bring up the talent for Sri Lanka Cricket. The secretary played a big role in stitching the broken ties of Sri Lanka Cricket with the Pakistan Cricket Board after the terrorist incident that happened in 2009 at Lahore. Sri Lanka visited Pakistan in 2019 under the current secretary, Mohan de Silva.
#Sri Lanka Cricket: Selectors
Once a mighty team in the International cricket circuit, Sri Lanka cricket had fallen off grace with corruption setting in the selection panel. However, they have weeded out the bad elements and got a new selection panel that is restructuring the Sri Lanka team. The void left by Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene is so big that the board is searching for the player of that caliber. The current selection panel consists of the former national and international Sri Lankan cricket players. The selectors are:
- Ashantha de Mel
- Chaminda Mendis
- Pramodya Wickramasinghe
- M.A.W.R Madurasinghe
- Ms. T Nilmini Gunarathne
- Hemantha Devapriya
- S.H.U Karnain
