News

Hosting of the Asian Cup lost to Sri Lanka because of a corrupt deal?

Published

3 years ago

August 11, 2022

Editor

According to Mr Naleen Bandara, Member of Parliament of the Samagi Jana Balawega, there is a corrupt deal to take the Asia Cup tournament that was to be held in Sri Lanka to the United Emirates.

The tournament was scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka from August 27 to September 11, however, after a discussion between the Asian Cricket Council and the Sri Lanka Cricket authorities, it was decided to hold the Asia Cup in the United Emirates and It will be hosted by Sri Lanka. Thereby Sri Lanka Cricket says that it will have an income of 6.5 million. But it has been alleged that there is an illegal deal to move this tournament to another country. However, in a statement, Sri Lanka Cricket said that considering the current economic and political situation in the country, steps were taken to shift the tournament to the Emirates and that these allegations are baseless.

But it is noticeable fact that the last Pakistani and Australian tour was held during a severe economic and political crisis in Sri Lanka. When asked about this the Minister of Sports, said that he would seek the advice of the Sports Council in this regard and the Minister further said that he too is feel bad about the decision of Sri Lanka Cricket.

ආසියානු කුසලානය සත්කාරත්වය මෙරටට අහිමු වූයේ දූෂිත ගණුදෙනුවක් නිසාද?

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ පැවැත්වීමට සංවිධානය කර තිබූ ආසියානු කුසලාන තරගාවලිය එක්සත් එමීර් රාජ්‍ය වෙත රැගෙන යාම දූෂිත ගණුදෙනුවක් ඇතැයි සමගී ජන බලවේගයේ පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී නලීන් බණ්ඩාර මහතා පවසනව.

මෙම තරගාවලිය අගෝස්තු 27 සිට සැප්තැම්බර් මස 11 වනිදා දක්වා ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේදී පැවැත්වීමට නියමිතව තිබූ අතර කෙසේ වෙතත් ආසියානු ක්‍රිකට් කවුන්සලය හා ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් බලධාරීන්ගේ අතර පැවති සාකච්චාවකින් පසුව තීරණය වූයේ ආසියානු කුසලාන තරගාවලිය එක්සත් එමීර් රාජ්‍යයේදී පැවැත්වීමටය. ඒ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සත්කාරත්වය යටතේය. එමගින් ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් ආයතනට ඇ.ඩො. මිලියන 6.5ක ආදායමක් හිමිවන බව ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් ආයතනය පවසනවා. නමුත් මෙම තරගාවලිය වෙනත් රටකට ගෙනයාම පිළිබදව අයතා ගණුදෙනුවක් පවතින බවට චෝදනා එල්ල වී ඇත. කෙසේ වතත් නිවේදනයක් නිකුත් කරමින් ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් ආයතනය පවසන්නේ, රටේ පවතින ආර්ථික හා දේශපාලන තත්වය සැලකිල්ලට ගෙන තරගාවලිය එමීර් රාජ්‍යය වෙත මාරු කිරීමට පියවර ගන්නා ලද බවත් මෙම චෝදනා පදනම් විරහිත බවත්ය.

එහෙත් පසුගිය පාකිස්ථානු හා ඕස්ට්‍රේලියානු තරග සංචාර පැවැත්වූයේද ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ දරුණු ආර්ථික හා දේෂපාලන අර්බුදයක් පැවති සමයක වීම විශේෂත්වයක්.

මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් ක්‍රීඩා අමාත්‍යවරයාගෙන් විමසීමේදී එතුමා ප්‍රකාශ කලේ ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් ක්‍රීඩා සභාවේ උපදෙස් ලබා ගන්නා බවත් තවදුරත් අමාත්‍යවරයා පවසා සිටියේ තමන්ද ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් ආයතනයේ වැඩපිලිවෙල ගැන කණගාටු වන බවයි.

ஊழல் ஒப்பந்தம் காரணமாக ஆசிய கோப்பையை நடத்தும் வாய்ப்பு இலங்கையிடம் பறிபோனதா?

இலங்கையில் நடைபெறவிருந்த ஆசிய கிண்ண போட்டிகளை ஐக்கிய இராச்சியத்திற்கு கொண்டு செல்வதற்கு ஊழல் பேரம் இடம்பெற்றுள்ளதாக சமகி ஜன பலவேகவின் பாராளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர் திரு.நளீன் பண்டார தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

ஆகஸ்ட் 27 முதல் செப்டெம்பர் 11 வரை இலங்கையில் போட்டிகள் நடத்த திட்டமிடப்பட்டிருந்த போதிலும், ஆசிய கிரிக்கட் சபைக்கும் இலங்கை கிரிக்கெட் அதிகாரிகளுக்கும் இடையில் இடம்பெற்ற கலந்துரையாடலின் பின்னர் ஆசிய கிண்ணத்தை ஐக்கிய எமிரேட்ஸில் நடத்த தீர்மானிக்கப்பட்டது. மற்றும் இது இலங்கையால் ஒழுங்கமைக்கப் படும் என தெரிவிக்க படுகின்றது. அதன் மூலம் இலங்கை கிரிக்கெட் நிறுவனம் 6.5 மில்லியன் வருமானம் கிடைக்கும் என தெரிவித்துள்ளது. ஆனால் இந்த போட்டியை வேறு நாட்டிற்கு மாற்றுவதற்கு சட்டவிரோதமான ஒப்பந்தம் நடந்துள்ளதாக குற்றச்சாட்டு எழுந்துள்ளது. எவ்வாறாயினும், நாட்டின் தற்போதைய பொருளாதார மற்றும் அரசியல் சூழ்நிலையை கருத்தில் கொண்டு, போட்டியை எமிரேட்ஸுக்கு மாற்ற நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்பட்டதாகவும், இந்த குற்றச்சாட்டுகள் அடிப்படையற்றவை என்றும் ஸ்ரீலங்கா கிரிக்கெட் தனது அறிக்கையில் தெரிவித்துள்ளது.

ஆனால் இலங்கையில் கடுமையான பொருளாதார மற்றும் அரசியல் நெருக்கடி நிலை ஏற்பட்டிருந்த நிலையிலேயே கடந்த பாகிஸ்தான் மற்றும் அவுஸ்திரேலிய சுற்றுப்பயணம் இடம்பெற்றமை விசேட அம்சமாகும்.

இது தொடர்பில் விளையாட்டுத்துறை அமைச்சரிடம் வினவியபோது, இது தொடர்பில் விளையாட்டு சபையின் ஆலோசனையை பெற்றுக் கொள்வதாக தெரிவித்த அமைச்சர் மேலும், இலங்கை கிரிக்கெட் நிறுவனத்தின் வேலைத்திட்டம் தொடர்பில் வருந்துவதாகவும் தெரிவித்தார்.

News

ISKA Appoints Dayan Samarasekara as National Director for Sri Lanka

Published

2 days ago

November 28, 2025

Editor

The International Sport Kickboxing Association (ISKA) has appointed Dayan Samarasekara as the National Director for Sri Lanka, recognizing his longstanding contribution to the development and modernisation of combat sports in the country.

Samarasekara has played a pivotal role in elevating Sri Lanka’s combat sports sector and has also been instrumental in supporting the professionalisation of combat sports across the South Asian region. His vision and commitment have been acknowledged through this significant appointment by ISKA.

Currently serving as the Co-Founder and Combat Sports Director of KFL, Samarasekara continues to work towards expanding and strengthening combat sports in Sri Lanka. ISKA has expressed confidence that, together with his leadership, the organisation will be able to further broaden the footprint and recognition of combat sports within the country.

About ISKA

The International Sport Kickboxing Association (ISKA), established in 1986, is the world’s most widely recognised sanctioning and regulatory body for over 20 combat sports and competitive martial arts disciplines.

ISKA is dedicated to training officials, updating competition rules, and upholding global standards, integrity, and professionalism while identifying champions and elite competitors worldwide.

The association regulates top-tier global events such as the US OPEN World Martial Arts Championships and GLORY.

Cricket

Sri Lanka Stun Pakistan to Seal Final Spot After Dramatic Tri-Series Turnaround in Rawalpindi

Published

2 days ago

November 27, 2025

Editor

Rawalpindi, Nov. 27 – Sri Lanka mounted a remarkable comeback in the Pakistan T20I Tri-Series, defeating the hosts by 6 runs in a tense final league-stage encounter to secure their place in Saturday’s grand finale. The victory completes a spirited late surge from the Islanders, who began the series with two deflating defeats but responded with back-to-back wins to keep their title hopes alive.

Sri Lanka’s Road to the Final – From Early Struggles to Strong Recovery

Sri Lanka’s campaign began on the wrong foot, suffering a heavy 67-run defeat against Zimbabwe and a 7-wicket loss to Pakistan in their first two outings. Their batting struggled for rhythm, and the bowling failed to contain opposition top orders.

But the narrative shifted dramatically in the last two matches:

Match 5: Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe – A Statement Win

Zimbabwe: 146/5
Sri Lanka: 148/1 (16.2 ov)
Sri Lanka dominated with a 9-wicket win, powered by an authoritative chase that restored confidence ahead of the Pakistan clash.

Today’s Match: Sri Lanka Defend 184 in a Rawalpindi Thriller

Sri Lanka – 184/5 (20 ov)

A superb innings from Kavindu Mishara (50 off 34) anchored Sri Lanka’s approach, supported by contributions from Kusal Mendis, Janith Liyanage, and Kusal Perera. Partnerships were steady, with Sri Lanka crossing key milestones — 100 in 11.1 overs and 150 in 16.2 — setting up a competitive 184.

Pakistan – 178/7 (20 ov)

Pakistan’s innings was rocked early, reduced to 45/4 in the Powerplay, thanks to Sri Lanka’s fiery pace attack.
Dushmantha Chameera, later named Player of the Match, delivered when it mattered most.

Agha Salman (50 off 35) and Usman Khan attempted a rebuild with a 50-run partnership, but Sri Lanka’s bowlers held their nerve at the death.

Pakistan reviewed twice unsuccessfully in tense moments but ultimately fell short by 6 runs.

Series Summary So Far

Match	Winner	Margin
Pakistan vs Zimbabwe	Pakistan	5 wickets
Zimbabwe vs Sri Lanka	Zimbabwe	67 runs
Sri Lanka vs Pakistan	Pakistan	7 wickets
Pakistan vs Zimbabwe	Pakistan	69 runs
Zimbabwe vs Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka	9 wickets
Sri Lanka vs Pakistan (today)	Sri Lanka	6 runs

Pakistan finished the league matches with 3 wins, Sri Lanka with 2, and Zimbabwe with 1.

Final: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka – What to Expect on Nov. 29

The final between Pakistan and Sri Lanka is shaping up as a high-stakes rematch. Both teams have beaten each other once in the series, making this final evenly poised.

Pakistan Strengths

Explosive top order (Babar not featured in league matches but expected for final)
Strong seam attack at home conditions
Ability to accelerate in middle overs

Sri Lanka Strengths

Momentum after two consecutive victories
Improved batting with stable partnerships
A rejuvenated pace attack led by Chameera and a disciplined spin unit

Key Battles

Sri Lanka openers vs Shaheen Afridi
Agha Salman vs Hasaranga/slow bowlers
Middle-overs match-up: Mendis vs Shadab Khan

Prediction: A Close Final, Momentum Favors Sri Lanka Slightly

With Rawalpindi offering good batting conditions under lights, a totals around 165–180 will be par.
Pakistan remain favorites at home, but Sri Lanka’s recent form gives them a genuine chance to upset the hosts. If Mishara, Mendis, or Liyanage fire again and Chameera continues his rhythm, Sri Lanka could edge Pakistan in a tight contest.

Predicted Winner (slight edge): Sri Lanka – if they bat first and defend with confidence.

Cricket

SSC Ground Begins Major Upgrades Ahead of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026

Published

2 days ago

November 27, 2025

Editor

Colombo, Nov. 27 – The historic Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Ground is undergoing significant redevelopment as Sri Lanka prepares to co-host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 alongside India. One of the most notable upgrades is the long-awaited installation of floodlights, marking a new chapter for one of the country’s most prestigious cricket venues.

SSC has traditionally been a venue for day matches, regularly hosting domestic cricket and women’s internationals. For years, Colombo’s day-night fixtures were primarily steered towards the R. Premadasa Stadium, the city’s largest ground equipped for evening play.

With the World Cup approaching — scheduled from 7 February to 8 March 2026 — SSC is set to take on a more prominent role. The venue will host five group-stage matches, including its first-ever World Cup night game. The opening fixture at SSC will be on 7 February, featuring Pakistan vs Netherlands, followed by the ground’s first floodlit World Cup encounter on 9 February, when Zimbabwe meet Oman at 3:00 PM local time.
The only full night match scheduled at SSC is the high-profile clash between Pakistan and the USA on 10 February at 7:00 PM.

Cricket authorities noted that the addition of floodlights will not only support Sri Lanka’s World Cup commitments but also expand SSC’s long-term hosting capabilities. Once completed, the upgrades could pave the way for future day-night Test matches and domestic tournament games under lights — potentially elevating SSC’s status as a top-tier international venue.

With construction and installations now in progress, the SSC Ground is gearing up to reassert its place among Sri Lanka’s elite cricket stadiums — this time with the glow of modern stadium lighting.