Under-19 Cricket World Cup moved from Sri Lanka to South Africa

President of Sri lanka Cricket (SLC) Shammi Silva speaks during a press conference at the Sri Lanka Cricket Board office (Pic: AFP)

Sri Lanka cricket: Sri Lanka has been stripped of the Under-19 World Cup next year, the International Cricket Council said Tuesday, after suspending the island nation's board over alleged political meddling.

The tournament will now be held in South Africa, the game's governing body said following a meeting of its board in the Indian city of Ahmedabad. The 16-nation tournament is scheduled to be held from January 13 to February 4. As a result of losing the right to host the competition, Sri Lanka stands to lose a $2.4 million grant from the ICC to develop venues, the local cricket board has claimed.

The ICC suspended Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) earlier this month, saying it had failed to ensure there was no government interference in its affairs. Sri Lanka can continue to compete internationally but funding to SLC will be controlled by the ICC.

The suspension came after Sri Lanka's parliament asked the board to resign over allegations made by sports minister Roshan Ranasinghe that it had syphoned off millions of dollars.

The ICC has rules against political interference and has suspended Sri Lanka before. Sri Lanka Cricket said the loss of the U-19 tournament was a "big blow" to the morale of young players, and a substantial financial loss to the country.

"This decision is something that makes the entire nation sad," the board's assistant secretary Krishantha Kapuwatte told reporters in Colombo. "We have been working diligently in the past four months to prepare our venues for the tournament".

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In a statement issued after its Board meeting, the ICC said, "After hearing representation from SLC, the ICC Board decided that Sri Lanka can continue to compete internationally both in bilateral cricket and ICC events after being suspended recently for breaching its obligations as a Member in particular the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and without government interference."

However, funding to SLC will be controlled by the ICC and the ICC Board.

SLC president Shammi Silva had recently warned that the country could lose the hosting rights of the U-19 World Cup, scheduled to be held from January 13 to February 4, if the government's interference continued.

In a statement released on Monday, SLC had said, "While SLC focuses on resolving the suspension issue, it appears that the minister of sports is pursuing a different agenda through media manipulation without pursuing legal avenues to address the allegations."

"This raises concerns about its intention to influence public opinion and other stakeholders to achieve its objective of taking control of SLC through the misuse of his powers.

"SLC calls for a fair and unbiased examination of the facts and remains focused on its mission to uphold the integrity of cricket in Sri Lanka and is confident that the truth will prevail in due course."

(With agency inputs)