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The position of Honorary Assistant Treasurer remained vacant due to the nomination being withdrawn, and an appointment will be made in due course, as per Article 7 (I) of the SLC constitution.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

Football

European Parliament Members Push for FIFA Inquiry Over Balogun Suspension Decision

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A group of European Parliament members is seeking a formal investigation into FIFA President Gianni Infantino following the controversial decision to allow United States forward Folarin Balogun to play after receiving a red card earlier in the tournament.

The lawmakers argue that the move raises serious concerns about FIFA’s independence and whether political influence played a role in altering a disciplinary decision during the FIFA World Cup.

Balogun, 25, was sent off in the United States’ July 1 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Under standard tournament regulations, the dismissal would have ruled him out of his team’s next fixture. However, FIFA’s disciplinary authorities later lifted the suspension, enabling the striker to feature in Monday’s match.

The decision came after U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly appealed directly to Infantino on Balogun’s behalf, prompting criticism from European lawmakers who say football’s governing body compromised the integrity of its own rules.

In a joint statement, Members of the European Parliament Barry Andrews, Lara Wolters and Niels Fuglsang described the decision as “a disgrace and a perversion of justice,” arguing that changing the application of red-card suspensions during an ongoing tournament undermines confidence in the sport’s disciplinary system.

The lawmakers are calling on football associations across European Union member states to urge FIFA’s Ethics Committee to examine Infantino’s conduct. They want investigators to determine whether political pressure from the Trump administration influenced the reversal of Balogun’s suspension and to assess what they describe as other possible violations of FIFA’s principle of political neutrality, including the awarding of the FIFA Peace Prize to Trump.

FIFA has maintained that the decision to overturn Balogun’s suspension was made independently by its disciplinary committee.

According to the lawmakers, support for the initiative is growing, with 35 members of the European Parliament already backing the proposal.

“The beauty of sport lies in the consistent and transparent application of its rules,” the statement said. “When political influence determines who is eligible to compete, the principle of fairness is fundamentally weakened.”

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News

Sri Lanka dominate Ceylon Masters with 36 gold medals

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Sri Lankan shuttle experts recorded a majestic dominance at the claiming a record overall tally of 137 medals at the CMB Masters International Badminton Championships 2026, successfully held at the AIR Sports Complex in Rajagiriya. Out of the total Sri Lanka won a straight tally of 101 medals through their experienced shuttlers, while the remaining 36 were added from collaborations in Doubles with shuttlers from other nations.

From the tally of 101, Sri Lanka claimed 22 gold, 27, silver and 52 bronze medals to lead the medals tally at the end of the five-day competition held with the participation of over 500 leading Masters’ shuttlers representing 15 countries. India finished overall second with 65 medals – 19 each of gold and silver and 27 bronze medals.

Malaysia finished behind at third with nine medals, three each of gold and bronze and a silver to their tally. Chinese Taipei, China, Nepal, Switzerland, UAE, France, Australia and Indonesia followed in behind one another to complete the medal board, while certain nations claimed medals from Doubles events collaborating with shuttlers from other countries.

Among the standout performers for Sri Lanka were Niroshan Wijekoon, Nadeesha Gayanthi, Renu Chandrika de Silva, Thushari Brahmanage, Niluka Karunaratne, Rohan de Silva, Hasitha Chanaka, Duminda Jayakody and Deshani Bandara, who were among a host of local players to produce outstanding performances throughout the tournament. Many of the leading Sri Lankan competitors are former national players who represented the country during their prime, while several are former national champions. Their continued success highlighted the depth of experience and enduring quality within Sri Lanka’s Masters badminton circuit.

The strong participation of overseas players also reflected the growing appeal of the event on the international calendar. Players from 15 countries competed in the championships, reinforcing Sri Lanka’s potential to develop sports tourism by hosting major international Masters events.

The CMB International Badminton Championships 2026, organised by Ceylon Masters Badminton (CMB), also received strong backing from the corporate sector. Some of the country’s leading companies, including McLarens Group, Mobil, Prime Group, 3M, Cool Max, Iodex, Li-Ning, Hundred, RovinAds, Seylan Bank, Sampath Bank, HNB Finance, Ceylon Biscuits Ltd, Mr. FixIt, McFoil and Elite Badminton, stepped forward as sponsors, playing a key role in the successful staging of the tournament.

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Cricket

Sooryavanshi fireworks see India ‘A’ thump Sri Lanka to clinch title

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A breathtaking assault from teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi powered India ‘A’ to a commanding 66-run victory over Sri Lanka ‘A’ in the final of the Tri-Series 2026, as the visitors lifted the title in emphatic fashion.

After being asked to bat, India ‘A’ piled up a daunting 377 for 9 in their 50 overs, thanks largely to Sooryavanshi’s explosive 94 off just 29 balls. The left-hander unleashed a stunning display of power-hitting, smashing 10 fours and eight sixes at a remarkable strike rate of 324.13.

Together with Priyansh Arya, who made a brisk 39, he put on 132 runs for the opening wicket in less than nine overs, leaving the Sri Lankan bowlers reeling.

Although Sooryavanshi fell agonisingly short of a century, India maintained the momentum through Ruturaj Gaikwad (40) and captain Tilak Varma, who anchored the middle overs with a well-compiled 67. Kumar Kushagra contributed 36, while Anukul Roy provided a late flourish with an unbeaten 39 from just 15 deliveries, including four sixes.

For Sri Lanka, Wanuja Sahan was the most economical bowler and claimed two wickets, while Ravindu Fernando and Kugathas Mathulan also picked up two scalps each.

Faced with a formidable target, Sri Lanka ‘A’ launched a spirited chase but were eventually bowled out for 311 in 47.1 overs. Sadeera Samarawickrama led the resistance with an attractive 52 off 44 balls, while Wanuja Sahan produced a fighting 62. Captain Sahan Arachchige chipped in with 38 and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth added 39, but the required rate continued to climb.

India’s bowlers struck at regular intervals, with Yash Thakur and Vipraj Nigam claiming three wickets apiece. Anukul Roy supported well with two wickets as Sri Lanka’s challenge faded in the closing stages.

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