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Shammi Silva Eyeing to secure sole World Cup hosting rights for Sri Lanka

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Shammi Silva was unanimously re-elected President for the term 2023 to 2025 at the Sri Lanka Cricket AGM held on Saturday to elect office-bearers. The decision was declared by the Election Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket.

Silva’s election marks his 3rd term in office as President of SLC, and the 2nd time being elected uncontested.

Speaking to the media following the AGM, Silva spoke about objectives for his next two-year term, one of which was securing sole World Cup hosting rights for Sri Lanka, which is due to co-host the 2026 T20 World Cup with India.

“We won’t get to back our missed World Cup opportunity. We missed out on hosting the World Cup alone in 2026, as we didn’t have enough grounds of international standard with flood lights,” Silva said.

“We had a proposal to build a new stadium quashed by a few people. Because of that, the country has lost the opportunity of hosting Worlds Cups. In time to come, we want Sri Lanka to host more World Cup tournaments. At the same time, if we have more stadiums we can get certain tournaments that are being played in other countries to be played in Sri Lanka.”

Silva added that the proposal to build a new floodlit stadium in Biyagama, about 12 miles outside Colombo, would be looked at again in the near future.

Silva also revealed that discussions were underway about potential changes in voting rights among SLC’s member clubs. Currently, SLC elections count 148 votes from its members, with some clubs having the privilege of two votes owing to different categories of membership. Critics of the system have long argued that it gives rise to a culture of buying votes.

“We are discussing it with the Sports Ministry and Minister. We have appointed a committee, so we’re definitely going to reduce a lot of votes,” he said.

The position of Honorary Assistant Treasurer remained vacant due to the nomination being withdrawn, and an appointment will be made in due course, as per Article 7 (I) of the SLC constitution.

The rest of the office-bearers, who were also elected uncontested, are as follows:

  • Dr. Jayantha Dharmadasa, Honorary Vice President

Ravin Wickramaratne, Honorary Vice President

Mohan de Silva, Honorary Secretary

Sujeeva Godaliyadda, Honorary Treasurer

Chryshantha Kapuwatte, Honorary Assistant Secretary

Shammi Silva Eyeing to secure sole World Cup hosting rights for Sri Lanka

Shammi Silva was unanimously re-elected President for the term 2023 to 2025 at the Sri Lanka Cricket AGM held on Saturday to elect office-bearers. The decision was declared by the Election Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket.

Silva’s election marks his 3rd term in office as President of SLC, and the 2nd time being elected uncontested.

Speaking to the media following the AGM, Silva spoke about objectives for his next two-year term, one of which was securing sole World Cup hosting rights for Sri Lanka, which is due to co-host the 2026 T20 World Cup with India.

“We won’t get to back our missed World Cup opportunity. We missed out on hosting the World Cup alone in 2026, as we didn’t have enough grounds of international standard with flood lights,” Silva said.

“We had a proposal to build a new stadium quashed by a few people. Because of that, the country has lost the opportunity of hosting Worlds Cups. In time to come, we want Sri Lanka to host more World Cup tournaments. At the same time, if we have more stadiums we can get certain tournaments that are being played in other countries to be played in Sri Lanka.”

Silva added that the proposal to build a new floodlit stadium in Biyagama, about 12 miles outside Colombo, would be looked at again in the near future.

Silva also revealed that discussions were underway about potential changes in voting rights among SLC’s member clubs. Currently, SLC elections count 148 votes from its members, with some clubs having the privilege of two votes owing to different categories of membership. Critics of the system have long argued that it gives rise to a culture of buying votes.

“We are discussing it with the Sports Ministry and Minister. We have appointed a committee, so we’re definitely going to reduce a lot of votes,” he said.

The position of Honorary Assistant Treasurer remained vacant due to the nomination being withdrawn, and an appointment will be made in due course, as per Article 7 (I) of the SLC constitution.

The rest of the office-bearers, who were also elected uncontested, are as follows:

*Dr. Jayantha Dharmadasa, Honorary Vice President

Ravin Wickramaratne, Honorary Vice President

Mohan de Silva, Honorary Secretary

Sujeeva Godaliyadda, Honorary Treasurer

Chrysantha Kapuwatte, Honorary Assistant Secretary

ශම්මි සිල්වා ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට තනිව ලෝක කුසලාන සත්කාරක අයිතිය ලබා ගැනීමට අපේක්ෂා කරයි

සෙනසුරාදා පැවති ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් සාමාන්‍යාධිකාරී මණ්ඩල රැස්වීමේදී 2023 සිට 2025 දක්වා කාලය සඳහා ශම්මි සිල්වා ඒකමතිකව නැවත සභාපතිවරයා ලෙස තේරී පත් විය. ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් නිලවරණ කමිටුව විසින් මෙම තීරණය ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කර ඇත.

සිල්වා මහතා ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් ආයතනයේ සභාපති ධූරයේ 3 වැනි ධුර කාලය සනිටුහන් කරන අතර 2 වැනි වරටත් නිතරගයෙන් තේරී පත් විය.

මහා සභා රැස්වීමෙන් අනතුරුව මාධ්‍ය වෙත අදහස් දක්වමින් සිල්වා, ඔහුගේ ඉදිරි වසර දෙකක ධුර කාලය සඳහා අරමුණු ගැන කතා කළ අතර, ඉන් එකක් වූයේ 2026 T20 ලෝක කුසලානය ඉන්දියාව සමඟ සම සත්කාරකත්වය දැරීමට නියමිත ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට එකම ලෝක කුසලාන සත්කාරක අයිතිය ලබා ගැනීමයි.

“අපට අහිමි වූ ලෝක කුසලාන අවස්ථාවට පිටුබලය දීමට අපට නොහැකි වනු ඇත. 2026 දී පමණක් ලෝක කුසලානය පැවැත්වීම අපට මග හැරුණි, මන්ද අපට ජාත්‍යන්තර මට්ටමේ විදුලි පහන් සහිත ක්‍රීඩාංගණ ප්‍රමාණවත් නොවීම නිසා,” සිල්වා පැවසීය.

“අපිට යෝජනාවක් තිබුණා කීප දෙනෙක් එකතුවෙලා නවත්තලා අලුත් ක්‍රීඩාංගනයක් හදන්න. ඒ නිසා ලෝක කුසලාන පැවැත්වීමේ අවස්ථාව රටට අහිමි වෙලා. ඉදිරි කාලය තුළ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව තවත් ලෝක කුසලාන තරඟාවලි පවත්වන්න ඕන. ඒ එක්කම. අපට තවත් ක්‍රීඩාංගණ තිබේ නම් අපට වෙනත් රටවල ක්‍රීඩා කරන ඇතැම් තරඟාවලි ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ පැවැත්වීමට හැකි වේ.

කොළඹින් සැතපුම් 12ක් පමණ එපිටින් බියගම ප්‍රදේශයේ නව විදුලි ආලෝක ක්‍රීඩාංගනයක් ඉදිකිරීමේ යෝජනාව නුදුරු අනාගතයේදී නැවත සලකා බලන බව ද සිල්වා මහතා පැවසීය.

ශ‍්‍රී ලංකා ක‍්‍රිකට් ආයතනයේ සාමාජික සමාජ අතර ඡන්ද අයිතියේ ඇති විය හැකි වෙනස්කම් පිළිබඳව සාකච්ඡා කෙරෙමින් පවතින බව ද සිල්වා මහතා අනාවරණය කළේය. වර්තමානයේදී, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් නිලවරණය එහි සාමාජිකයින්ගෙන් ඡන්ද 148ක් ගණනය කරනු ලබන අතර, විවිධ සාමාජික කාණ්ඩ හේතුවෙන් ඇතැම් සමාජශාලාවලට ඡන්ද දෙකක වරප්‍රසාද හිමිවේ. මෙම ක්‍රමය විවේචනය කරන්නන් දිගු කලක් තිස්සේ තර්ක කරන්නේ එය ඡන්ද මිලදී ගැනීමේ සංස්කෘතියක් ඇති කරන බවයි.

“අපි ඒ ගැන ක්‍රීඩා අමාත්‍යාංශය සහ ඇමතිතුමා එක්ක සාකච්ඡා කරනවා. අපි කමිටුවක් පත් කර තිබෙනවා. ඒ නිසා අපි අනිවාර්යයෙන්ම ඡන්ද ගොඩක් අඩු කරනවා,” ඔහු පැවසීය.

නාමයෝජනා ඉල්ලා අස්කර ගැනීම හේතුවෙන් ගරු සහකාර භාණ්ඩාගාරික තනතුර පුරප්පාඩු වූ අතර, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 7 (I) වගන්තිය ප්‍රකාර පත්වීමක් ඉදිරියේදී සිදු කෙරේ.

එසේම නිතරගයෙන් තේරී පත් වූ සෙසු නිලධාරී මණ්ඩලය මෙසේය.

*ආචාර්ය. ජයන්ත ධර්මදාස, ගරු උප සභාපති

රවීන් වික්‍රමරත්න, ගරු උප සභාපති

මොහාන් ද සිල්වා, ගරු ලේකම්

සුජීව ගොඩලියද්ද, ගරු භාණ්ඩාගාරික

ක්‍රිසාන්ත කපුවත්ත, ගරු සහකාර ලේකම්

ஷம்மி சில்வா இலங்கைக்கான முற்றிலும் உலகக் கோப்பையை நடத்தும் உரிமையைப் பெற விரும்புகிறார்

2023 ஆம் ஆண்டு முதல் 2025 ஆம் ஆண்டு வரையிலான காலப்பகுதிக்கான ஜனாதிபதியாக ஷம்மி சில்வா சனிக்கிழமையன்று நடைபெற்ற இலங்கை கிரிக்கெட் பொதுக்குழுவில் பதவியேற்றார். இந்த முடிவை இலங்கை கிரிக்கெட் வாரியம் அறிவித்துள்ளது.

சில்வாவின் தேர்தல் அவர் SLC இன் தலைவராக 3வது முறையாக பதவியேற்றதுடன், 2வது முறையாக போட்டியின்றி தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்டார்.

AGM ஐத் தொடர்ந்து ஊடகங்களுக்குப் பேட்டியளித்த சில்வா, தனது அடுத்த இரண்டு வருட பதவிக் காலத்திற்கான நோக்கங்களைப் பற்றி பேசினார், அதில் ஒன்று, 2026 T20 உலகக் கோப்பையை இந்தியாவுடன் இணைந்து நடத்தவுள்ள இலங்கைக்கான உலகக் கோப்பை ஹோஸ்டிங் உரிமைகளைப் பெறுவது.

“எங்கள் தவறவிட்ட உலகக் கோப்பை வாய்ப்பை நாங்கள் ஆதரிக்க மாட்டோம். 2026 இல் உலகக் கோப்பையை மட்டும் நடத்துவதை நாங்கள் தவறவிட்டோம், ஏனெனில் எங்களிடம் போதுமான சர்வதேச தரத்தில் ஃப்ளட் லைட்கள் இல்லை,” என்று சில்வா கூறினார்.

“ஒரு சிலரால் புதிய மைதானம் கட்டும் திட்டம் இருந்தது. அதனால், உலகக் கோப்பைகளை நடத்தும் வாய்ப்பை நாடு இழந்துவிட்டது. வரும் காலத்தில், இலங்கை மேலும் உலகக் கோப்பை போட்டிகளை நடத்த வேண்டும் என்று நாங்கள் விரும்புகிறோம். எங்களிடம் அதிக மைதானங்கள் இருந்தால், மற்ற நாடுகளில் விளையாடும் சில போட்டிகளை இலங்கையில் நடத்த முடியும்.”

கொழும்பிற்கு வெளியே சுமார் 12 மைல் தொலைவில் உள்ள பியகமவில் புதிய ஃப்ளட்லைட் மைதானத்தை நிர்மாணிப்பதற்கான முன்மொழிவு எதிர்காலத்தில் மீண்டும் பரிசீலிக்கப்படும் என்று சில்வா மேலும் கூறினார்.

SLC இன் அங்கத்துவக் கழகங்களுக்கிடையில் வாக்களிக்கும் உரிமைகளில் சாத்தியமான மாற்றங்கள் குறித்து கலந்துரையாடல்கள் நடைபெற்று வருவதாகவும் சில்வா தெரிவித்தார். தற்போது, SLC தேர்தல்கள் அதன் உறுப்பினர்களிடமிருந்து 148 வாக்குகளைக் கணக்கிடுகின்றன, சில கிளப்கள் வெவ்வேறு வகை உறுப்பினர்களின் காரணமாக இரண்டு வாக்குகளின் சிறப்புரிமையைப் பெற்றுள்ளன. வாக்குகளை விலைக்கு வாங்கும் கலாசாரம் உருவாகிறது என்று இந்த அமைப்பை விமர்சிப்பவர்கள் நீண்டகாலமாக வாதிட்டு வருகின்றனர்.

“நாங்கள் விளையாட்டு அமைச்சகத்துடனும் அமைச்சருடனும் ஆலோசித்து வருகிறோம். நாங்கள் ஒரு குழுவை நியமித்துள்ளோம், எனவே நாங்கள் நிச்சயமாக நிறைய வாக்குகளைக் குறைக்கப் போகிறோம்,” என்று அவர் கூறினார்.

வேட்புமனு வாபஸ் பெறப்பட்டதால் கெளரவ உதவி பொருளாளர் பதவி காலியாக உள்ளது, மேலும் SLC அரசியலமைப்பின் பிரிவு 7 (I) இன் படி, உரிய நேரத்தில் நியமனம் செய்யப்படும்.

போட்டியின்றி தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்ட மீதமுள்ள நிர்வாகிகள் விவரம் வருமாறு:

*டாக்டர். ஜயந்த தர்மதாச, கௌரவ உப தலைவர்

ரவின் விக்கிரமரத்ன, கௌரவ உப தலைவர்

மொஹான் டி சில்வா, கௌரவ செயலாளர்

சுஜீவ கொடலியத்த, கௌரவ பொருளாளர்

கிரிசாந்த கபுவத்த, கௌரவ உதவிச் செயலாளர்

Cricket

Kamindu Mendis Shines as Sunrisers Hyderabad Break Chepauk Curse, Crush CSK’s Playoff Hopes | IPL 2025

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Sri Lankan all-rounder Kamindu Mendis delivered under pressure, helping Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) script a historic first-ever win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium during the IPL 2025 season.

Chasing a tricky target of 155, Mendis played a composed and crucial unbeaten knock of 32 off 22 balls, stitching an unbroken 49-run partnership with Nitish Kumar to seal a five-wicket victory with eight balls to spare. His calm presence at the crease when the game was delicately poised underlined his growing stature in T20 cricket.

Earlier, the Chennai Super Kings, once invincible at home, continued their disastrous 2025 campaign — suffering a fourth consecutive home defeat. Batting first, CSK stumbled despite a promising start, collapsing to 154 all out. Dewald Brevis impressed briefly on debut with a quickfire 42 runs, but it was Harshal Patel’s brilliant spell (4 wickets for 28 runs) that broke CSK’s backbone.

For CSK, promising youngster Ayush Mhatre shone early, but a middle-order collapse proved costly. Even skipper M.S. Dhoni’s tactical gamble of giving Sam Curran two overs backfired, as SRH batters capitalized to turn the game.

In the SRH chase, despite early hiccups — losing Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head quickly — Ishan Kishan’s fluent 44 and Kamindu Mendis’ finishing touch ensured Hyderabad stayed alive in the playoff race.

Meanwhile, in the updated IPL 2025 points table, Sunrisers Hyderabad now sits 8th with 6 points, while CSK languishes at the bottom with just 4 points from 9 games, effectively ending their playoff dreams.

Mendis’ all-round contribution, including a key wicket earlier, and his coolness in the chase were pivotal. While Harshal Patel deservedly took the Player of the Match award, Sri Lanka can proudly celebrate Kamindu’s evolving prowess on the IPL stage.


Points Table Update (After SRH vs CSK Match):

  • GT, DC, and RCB are leading the race with 12 points each.
  • PBKS and MI are close behind with 11 and 10 points.
  • CSK and RR are at the bottom with just 4 points, all but knocked out of the playoffs.
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News

Kaya Daluwatte and Reshan Algama Shine at 16th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final in Vietnam

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Sri Lanka’s promising golf talents Kaya Daluwatte and Reshan Algama showcased their growing international class with stellar performances at the prestigious 16th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final, held at the stunning Laguna Golf Lang Co in Vietnam.

Facing off against the finest junior golfers from the Asia-Pacific region—including representatives from Australia, England, Japan, India, and Wales—both Kaya and Reshan rose to the occasion, underlining Sri Lanka’s emerging strength in the sport.

Kaya Daluwatte delivered one of her career-best performances, finishing as the runner-up in the Girls’ Under-16 category. After three composed rounds, she posted a remarkable final score of even-par 216, highlighted by an impressive 2-under-par finish in the final round. Despite Japan’s Al Goto clinching the title with a score of 213, Kaya’s climb up the leaderboard captured widespread admiration. Her poise, precision, and birdies during the crucial back-nine holes showcased a maturity well beyond her years.

This runner-up finish at one of Asia’s top junior championships marks a historic achievement for Sri Lankan golf, signaling that the nation’s junior golfers are ready to challenge the region’s traditional powerhouses.

In the Boys’ Under-16 category, Reshan Algama also left his mark by securing a strong fourth-place finish with a gross score of 218. Although his final round did not match the brilliance of his earlier efforts, Reshan displayed commendable composure against a highly competitive international field. His consistency across top-level tournaments reflects his rapid development into a serious contender on the global junior golf circuit.

Vietnam’s Tuan Anh Nguyen dominated the Boys’ division, leading from start to finish to claim the title with a superb score of 205. India’s Arshvant Srivastava and Kanav Chauhan finished second and third, with scores of 214 and 216 respectively.

Kaya and Reshan’s performances not only bring pride to Sri Lanka but also signal a bright future for the country’s junior golfing scene on the Asian stage.

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Football

SAFF Championship Postponement Exposes Deeper Issues Within FFSL

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The much-anticipated SAFF Championship, originally scheduled to take place in Sri Lanka in July 2025, has now been officially postponed to 2026—a move that has raised serious concerns over the competence and credibility of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL).

According to the SAFF Executive Committee, the decision to delay the tournament stemmed largely from pressure exerted by its marketing partner, Sportfive, which advocated for a home-and-away format to increase commercial value. Furthermore, it is reported that Sportfive preferred the event be hosted in Bangladesh or India, citing better sponsor access and commercial feasibility in those countries if the tournament were to follow a centralized model.

However, beyond external pressure, this development highlights a troubling reality: the FFSL’s inability to effectively organize and defend Sri Lanka’s hosting rights on the international stage. This isn’t merely a scheduling issue—it reflects a deeper pattern of administrative shortcomings, lack of vision, and prioritization of media narratives over tangible development.

As previously reported by Sri Lankan Sports TV, the FFSL continues to focus more on optics and media stunts rather than on the foundational work required to uplift football in the country. The failure to safeguard Sri Lanka’s opportunity to host a major regional tournament not only affects the sport’s growth domestically but also damages the nation’s reputation within South Asian football.

For a federation that has long promised reform and transparency, this latest setback exposes how little progress has actually been made. When commercial partners have more sway than the national football body itself, it’s a clear indication that local football governance is being undermined by weak leadership and poor planning.

This should be a wake-up call—not just for the FFSL, but for every stakeholder invested in the future of Sri Lankan football. The time for slogans and staged announcements is over. Sri Lanka needs action, accountability, and genuine commitment to building a sustainable footballing culture. Until then, headlines like this will only continue to reflect a sport lost in mismanagement.

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