COLOMBO: A top Sri Lankan cricket board official resigned on Sunday after the country's Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe called for the entire board to resign over corruption allegations following the devastating World Cup defeat.
Sri Lanka Cricket secretary and the board's second-highest official, Mohan De Silva, announced his resignation while in Australia, where he was undergoing treatment for a heart condition.
Sri Lanka's 302-run defeat by India in the World Cup last week sparked public outrage, with Minister Ranasinghe insisting that cricket officials had lost the moral and ethical authority to hold their posts.
"They should voluntarily step down," he declared.
Mohan de Silva revealed that he decided to quit due to his diagnosed medical condition, which he attributed to stress and anxiety caused by controversies in cricket. His family also encouraged him to resign.
During the match against India, the Sri Lankan team found themselves 14–6 down and were eventually bowled out for just 55 runs, the highest in World Cup history, chasing India's 358 runs in Mumbai. . The fourth is the lowest amount.
On a separate note, Minister Ranasinghe approached the member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC) for their understanding and cooperation.
Sri Lankan cricket has been plagued by player disciplinary complaints, allegations of administrative corruption, financial irregularities and allegations of match-fixing, Ranasinghe said in letters to ICC members. were made available.
Earlier, the ICC had forced the minister to withdraw a three-member panel appointed a month ago to probe corruption within the board, citing political interference.
Cricket board sources have confirmed that the coaching staff has been asked to account for the team's crucial defeat against India.
Sri Lanka have not won a World Cup since 1996, with Minister Ranasinghe blaming the board for the declining quality of the game.
In a related statement, another cabinet minister, Prasanna Rana Tunga, brother of World Cup-winning captain Arjun Rana Tunga, revealed in Parliament in August that the 1996 victory had turned into a "disaster for our cricket".
He said that after 1996, money started coming into the cricket board and along with it dishonesty also came.
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