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Ready to win May SLC election easily
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Jerome Jayaratne was appointed as Manager for his credentials, not because of his connection with Minister Rajapaksa
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Not personally angry with Thilanga Sumathipala
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Rubbishes allegations over his secret 'Club link' with Sports Minister
Shammi Silva: Ready to do changes in local cricket and make a return as Head of SLC. Photo © Pradeep Dambarage [/caption]
What we are passing is, more or less, one of the most turbulent times for Sri Lanka cricket administration.
Following the change of Government last year and a series of defeats the national team suffered after international cricket returned following pandemic lockdowns and all, the Shammi Silva-led Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is now in the spotlight, with just over three months to go for its next elections.
Here is Silva speaking to The Sunday Morning Sports on those allegations and, perhaps, misconceptions and organised mud-slinging on the body he leads.
Tell us a bit through your cricketing background.
I captained Ananda College, Colombo first-XI in 1980. Then I played first-class cricket for Colombo Cricket Club (CCC) and represented Sri Lanka at the Board President’s (against visiting countries) level.
I also played squash and won national colours. Once, I was also the Manager of the Sri Lanka national squash team.
What is all about this sudden pandemonium over Sri Lanka's cricket?
In fact we were playing decent cricket before the pandemic (Silva took over as SLC President in February 2019). We beat South Africa in South Africa and won a good limited-over series in Pakistan under Dasun Shanaka.
Even without much preparation, we could have done better this time in South Africa (where Sri Lanka lost a two-Test series 2-0) had we not faced so much of injuries. Over six players got injured suddenly in the first Test. Until some stage of that match, we were actually doing really well.
But the players were irresponsible in the way they played against England in Galle (where they again lost a two-Test series 2-0). There are no excuses for that loss.
We are one of the few Boards who didn’t cut contract fees of any player during the pandemic. The series showed lack of commitment on the part of our players.
Will the Sports Ministry intervene and appoint an interim committee to, say, stem the slide?
There is no reason to appoint an interim committee. Appointing an interim (committee) is only a ploy put forward by our opposition parties to enter power. They can’t win in any election. Such a move will also be a blow on the democratic process of SLC.
Will you implement the recommendations to be given by the new Cricket Committee?
Yes. The number of first-class clubs will be reduced. And the structure of our domestic tournament will also be somewhat changed. We had previously given first-class status to our Tier B so as to give an opportunity to our players to have more overseas exposure by using that as a qualification.
There is an accusation that Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa has a ‘soft corner’ for your administration because you know him closely as a member of CH&FC, the rugby arm of CCC?
Again it is a misconception and organised mud-slinging. I know the Honourable Minister for a long time. Yes, he played rugby for CH. But do you think he won’t take any action if we fail in our job because we were members of the same club?
They say we appointed the Sports Minister’s close relative Jerome Jayaratne as Sri Lanka’s Team Manager because of his connection with the Honourable Minister. No. We replaced Jayaratne temporarily in that job because he was the best person we had for that job. He has held that position before and he knows all the players very closely because he is the present Head of our High Performance Centre.
Why are we to deprive him of the opportunity to serve the team the best way possible simply because he is related to the Minister?
You were once a close ally of former SLC President Thilanga Sumathipala. Are you angry with him now? They say you two have parted ways.
No. We are not angry with each other. But the thing is, being the Head of SLC, I have to work myself for the betterment of the game and take the responsibility by myself and our team.
How about the forthcoming SLC election, coming up on 20 May?
We will take more than 100 votes. Our victory is already assured. My candidate for the post of Secretary will be (incumbent SLC Secretary) Mohan de Silva and my Vice Presidents will be Jayantha Dharmadasa and Ravin Wickramaratne.
We have worked closely with our member clubs and looked after them during the Covid-19 situation through the entirety of the last year. Our opposition says that we are bribing the clubs. We don’t have to bribe the clubs. The majority of them are with us.