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<\/p>\nThe Cricket Transformation Committee (CTC) running \u2018the gentleman\u2019s game\u2019 believes it has won valuable time from the International Cricket Council (ICC) to complete sweeping governance reforms, but insists that its own ambition is to relinquish control and return the game to an elected administration at the earliest.<\/p>\n
Fresh from attending the ICC Chief Executives\u2019 Meeting in Scotland, CTC Secretary Prakash Schaffter says the message from world cricket\u2019s governing body was clear: the current interim arrangement is not sustainable, elections must be held at the earliest opportunity, and a new constitution is the key to restoring normalcy.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Prakash Schaffter stated that the CTC intends to complete their tasks and hand over SLC to elected officials under a comprehensive framework<\/p>\n
However, Schaffter believes the ICC also recognised the exceptional circumstances that led to the appointment of the Transformation Committee and was prepared to allow Sri Lanka time to complete the reform process rather than impose harsher sanctions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey understood where we are coming from,\u201d Schaffter told the Sunday Times in an exclusive interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe discussions were cordial, constructive and based on understanding rather than confrontation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The visit came days before the ICC Board reaffirmed that Sri Lanka Cricket would continue to remain excluded from Board Meetings until governance returns to normal under an elected administration.<\/p>\n
Representing Sri Lanka Cricket at the CEO\u2019s meeting, Schaffter also held discussions with senior administrators from Cricket Australia, Cricket South Africa, the England and Wales Cricket Board, Bangladesh Cricket Board and ICC Chief Executive Sanjog Gupta. More importantly, he was invited to meet the ICC\u2019s Normalisation Committee, where he presented the Transformation Committee\u2019s progress on constitutional reforms. Schaffter said the meeting was attended by several senior ICC officials, including ICC Chairman Jay Shah, the former Deputy Chairman Imran Khwaja, the ICC CEO and other officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was asked questions with regard to the governance measures that we are hoping to bring in the new constitution. What were the governance issues that Sri Lanka cricket faced, if any? So I went through some of the governance issues that I felt Sri Lanka Cricket had,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI explained that we see ourselves purely as an interim caretaker administration. Our sole purpose is to introduce a modern governance structure through a new constitution and then hand over to officials elected under that framework. We have absolutely no desire to remain in office.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Schaffter, the ICC\u2019s concerns centred not on the committee\u2019s intentions but on the fact that Sri Lanka Cricket continues to function outside the normal governance model recognised by the global body.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey made it very clear that they are not comfortable with the present arrangement. We accept that because it is not a normal situation. But we also explained why this temporary intervention became necessary and what we are doing to correct the governance deficiencies.\u201d<\/p>\n
He believes that explanation helped convince the ICC not to pursue stronger disciplinary action.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey could have suspended Sri Lanka Cricket, stopped funding or prevented us from participating even at CEO level. None of that happened. Instead, they have recognised the need for dialogue and have given us time to complete this process.\u201d<\/p>\n
The committee, however, is not prepared to promise when elections can be held.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are nearing the end of our work. The draft constitution is almost complete and will shortly be handed over to the Government. After that, the legislative process is outside our control,\u201d Schaffter said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue urging the Government to expedite the process because, more than the ICC, we ourselves want Sri Lanka Cricket to return to normal governance.\u201d<\/p>\n
A large part of Schaffter\u2019s presentation to the ICC focused on what he described as long-standing structural weaknesses within Sri Lanka Cricket rather than the actions of any particular administration.<\/p>\n
One of the first issues he raised was the constitutional requirement that administrators must have played First Class cricket.\u201cThat restriction simply does not make sense in modern sports administration,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood cricketers do not necessarily become good administrators. Around the ICC Board there are very few former international cricketers. Sports administration requires expertise in governance, finance, law and management. By limiting eligibility, Sri Lanka Cricket has excluded many capable professionals who could contribute to the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
The committee also believes the voting structure has distorted cricket administration for decades. At present, dozens of clubs and associations hold voting rights, many of which, according to Schaffter, have only limited involvement in competitive cricket.<\/p>\n
\u201cElections become political campaigns because there are too many voters spread across the country. Administrators spend more time canvassing votes than planning long-term development.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, he argues that voting rights should reflect genuine contribution to the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose actively involved in playing and developing cricket should have the strongest voice in determining its future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schaffter said the current system of distributing grants often depended on requests and recommendations rather than objective criteria.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen funding is allocated on an ad hoc basis, organisations inevitably become dependent on maintaining favourable relationships with those in office. That is not healthy governance. Financial assistance should be based on transparent principles and strategic priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another weakness identified by the CTC is what it considers excessive Board involvement in operational matters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Board should provide strategic direction. Professional executives should manage the organisation.\u201d<\/p>\n
He revealed that one of his biggest surprises after assuming office was discovering that Sri Lanka Cricket\u2019s management had played little role in preparing the organisation\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn any properly governed organisation, management prepares the budget because they are responsible for delivering it. The Board reviews and approves it. Here, we found a very different practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
While governance reforms dominate the committee\u2019s agenda, financial sustainability remains another concern. Schaffter described Sri Lanka Cricket\u2019s financial position as stable but lacking long-term security.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not in financial difficulty, but neither are we sitting on large reserves.\u201d<\/p>\n
He questioned why an organisation that had generated significant revenues over many years had failed to establish a meaningful financial corpus.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen successful organisations generate surpluses, they build reserves for future uncertainties. That has not happened to the extent it should have.\u201d<\/p>\n
The committee also continues to pursue the long-promised forensic audit into Sri Lanka Cricket\u2019s affairs.<\/p>\n
Although critics have questioned the delay, Schaffter said identifying an independent firm capable of undertaking such a politically sensitive exercise has proved challenging.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are conflict-of-interest issues and there are firms reluctant to become involved because of Sri Lanka Cricket\u2019s history of controversy. We remain committed to carrying out the forensic audit.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Cricket Transformation Committee (CTC) running \u2018the gentleman\u2019s game\u2019 believes it has won valuable time from the International…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":810791,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85],"class_list":["post-810790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cricket","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=810790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810790\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/810791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=810790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=810790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=810790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}