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The ban on the former president of the Sri Lanka Rugby Federation is upheld
The Asian Rugby Federation has rejected the appeal of the former President of the Sri Lanka Rugby Federation Mr. Ilyas and confirmed his ban.
After reconsidering the appeal sent to them by the former president of the Sri Lanka Rugby Federation, Mr. Mohammad Risley Ilyas, who was banned by the Asian Rugby Federation, the ban will continue until the end of the current Asian Rugby Federation’s term of office. The Ministry has been notified today (July 14) through an e-mail message.
Earlier, due to the Asian Rugby Federation banning Mr. Ilyas, the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Roshan Ranasinghe issued a gazette notice suspending the activities of the Sri Lanka Rugby Federation and its president, Mr. Ilyas, as stated in the constitution of the Rugby Institute.
Against this, Mr. Ilyas filed a case in the Court of Appeal and accordingly, the Court of Appeal has issued an interim injunction order on the gazette notification issued by the Minister of Sports preventing the activities of the Sri Lanka Rugby Institute today (July 14).
Today (July 14), the Ministry of Sports will make a motion to present the facts to the Court of Appeal, including the details of the rejection of Mr. Ilyas’ appeal by the Asian Rugby Federation and the confirmation of the ban, including the clauses contained in the constitution of the Rugby Institute that caused the ban of Mr. Ilyas, and the activities of the Rugby Institute and Mr. Ilyas are banned. It was not for a political reason, and in accordance with the existing sports law in Sri Lanka and in accordance with the rugby constitution, an official who has been internationally banned cannot hold office in the Sri Lanka Rugby Federation, the Ministry of Sports has stated.
In today’s email from the Asian Rugby Federation, it is further stated as follows.
“Mr. Ilyas was found guilty on the charge of breaching the terms and ethics of the Asian Rugby Federation following an extensive investigation by a judicial officer of the Asian Rugby Executive Committee. Mr. Ilyas had the opportunity to present an appeal for that, and the appeal board appointed by Kazakhstan Rugby President Mrs. Aigul Jertybayeva with the membership of Chinese Taipei Rugby Football Association President Mr. Geoffrey Chang and Court Officer Mr. David Boyton rejected Mr. Ilyas’ appeal after proper investigation and evaluation. was The expulsion of Mr. Ilyas from the Asian Rugby Council is binding until the end of the current Asian Rugby Council’s term.
ශ්රී ලංකා රග්බි සම්මේලනයේ හිටපු සභාපතිගේ තහනම තහවුරු වේ
ආසියානු රග්බි සම්මේලනය ශ්රී ලංකා රග්බි සම්මේලනයේ හිටපු සභාපති ඉල්යාස් මහතාගේ අභියාචනය ප්රතික්ෂේප කර ඔහුගේ තහනම සහතික කරයි.
ආසියානු රග්බි සම්මේලනය මගින් තහනමට ලක් කර සිටි ශ්රී ලංකා රග්බි සම්මේලනයේ හිටපු සභාපති මොහොමඩ් රිස්ලි ඉල්යාස් මහතා විසින් ඔවුන් වෙත යොමු කර තිබූ අභියාචනය නැවත සළකා බැලීමෙන් අනතුරුව එම තහනම ඉවත් නොකර වත්මන් ආසියානු රග්බි සම්මේලනයේ නිල කාලය අවසන් වන තෙක් පවතින බව ද දන්වමින් ක්රීඩා හා යෞවන කටයුතු අමාත්යාංශය වෙත අද (ජූලි 14 දින) විද්යුත් තැපැල් පණිවිඩයක් (E mail) මගින් දැනුම් දී ඇත.
මින් පෙර අවස්ථාවේ ආසියානු රග්බි සම්මේලනය ඉල්යාස් මහතා තහනම් කිරීම හේතුවෙන් රග්බි ආයතනයේ ව්යවස්ථාවේ සදහන් පරිදි ක්රීඩා හා යෞවන කටයුතු අමාත්ය රොෂාන් රණසිංහ මහතා ශ්රී ලංකා රග්බි සම්මේලනයේ සහ එහි සභාපති ඉල්යාස් මහතාගේ කටයුතු අත්හිටුවමින් ගැසට් නිවේදනයක් නිකුත් කරන ලදි.
ඊට එරෙහිව ඉල්යාස් මහතා විසින් අභියාචනාධිකරණයේ නඩුවක් ගොනු කරන ලද අතර ඒ අනුව ශ්රී ලංකා රග්බි ආයතනයේ කටයුතු වලක්වාලමින් ක්රීඩා අමාත්යවරයා විසින් නිකුත් කළ ගැසට් නිවේදනයට අභියාචනාධිකරණයෙන් අතුරු තහනම් නියෝගයක් අද (ජූලි 14) දින නිකුත් කර ඇත.
අද (ජූලි 14) දින ආසියානු රග්බි සම්මේලනයෙන් ඉල්යාස් මහතාගේ අභියාචනය ප්රතික්ෂේප කර තහනම තහවුරු කිරීමේ තොරතුරුද ඇතුලත්ව, ඉල්යාස් මහතා තහනම් කිරීමට හේතු වූ රග්බි ආයතනයේ ව්යවස්ථාවේ අඩංගු වගන්තිද ඇතුලත්ව මෝසමක් මගින් අභියාචනාධිකරණයට කරුණු දැක්වීමට ක්රීඩා අමාත්යාංශය විසින් කටයුතු කරන අතර රග්බි ආයතනයේ සහ ඉල්යාස් මහතාගේ කටයුතු තහනම් වූයේ දේශපාලන හේතුවක් නොවන අතර, ලංකාවේ පවතින ක්රීඩා නීතියට අනුකූලව සහ රග්බි ව්යවස්ථාවට අනුකූලව ජාත්යන්තර තහනමකට ලක් වූ නිළධාරියෙකු ශ්රී ලංකා රග්බි සම්මේලනයේ නිළතල දැරිය නොහැකියි යන පදනම මත බව ක්රීඩා අමාත්යාංය සදහන් කර සිටියි.
අද දින ආසියානු රග්බි සම්මේලනයෙන් ලද ඊමේල් පනිවිඩයෙහි වැඩිදුරටත් මෙසේ සදහන්ව ඇත.
‘‘ඉල්යාස් මහතා ආසියානු රග්බි සම්මේලනයේ කොන්දේසි හා ආචාරධර්ම උල්ලංඝනය කිරීමේ චෝදනාව මත ආසියානු රග්බි විධායක කමිටුව අධිකරණ නිලධාරියකු විසින් කරන ලද පුළුල් විමර්ශනයක් මත වරදකරු කරනු ලැබීය. ඉල්යාස් මහතාට ඒ සදහා අභියාචනයක් ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමට අවස්ථාව හිමි වූ අතර, චීන තායිපේ රග්බි පාපන්දු සංගමයේ සභාපති ජෙෆ්රි චෑං මහතා සහ අධිකරණ නිලධාරී ඩේවිඩ් බොයිටන් මහතාගේ සාමාජිකත්වයෙන් කසකස්තාන රග්බි සභාපති අයිගුල් ජර්ටිබයේවා මහත්මියගේ ප්රධානත්වයෙන් පත් කරන ලද අභියාචනා මණ්ඩලය නිසි පරීක්ෂණයකින් හා ඇගයීමකින් පසු ඉල්ලියාස් මහතාගේ අභියාචනය ප්රතික්ෂේප කරන ලදී. ඉල්යාස් මහතා ආසියානු රග්බි කවුන්සිලයෙන් නෙරපා හැරීම වත්මන් ආසියානු රග්බි කවුන්සිලයේ නිල කාලය අවසන් වන තෙක් බැඳී පවතී.’’
Cricket
Sri Lanka name squads for full-format West Indies tour
Sri Lanka Cricket has announced the national squads for the upcoming multi-format tour of the West Indies, with selectors blending experienced campaigners and emerging talent across the Test, ODI and T20I squads.
The tour, which begins later this month, will feature white-ball and red-ball cricket, with the ODI series scheduled first before the teams move into the T20I and Test contests. The Sri Lankan squad is set to depart tomorrow, May 26, for what is expected to be a challenging overseas assignment in Caribbean conditions.
Senior batter Pathum Nissanka has been included in all three squads alongside wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Mendis and all-rounder Kamindu Mendis, underlining their importance to Sri Lanka’s plans across formats.
In Test cricket, Dhananjaya de Silva will continue to lead the side, while Kamindu Mendis has been named vice-captain. The squad also includes experienced names such as Dinesh Chandimal, Prabath Jayasuriya and fast bowlers Asitha Fernando and Lahiru Kumara.
Selectors have also rewarded several emerging players, with Lahiru Udara, Sonal Dinusha and Isitha Wijesundara earning places in the Test squad as Sri Lanka looks to build depth ahead of future international commitments.
For the ODI and T20I squads, Kusal Mendis has been entrusted with captaincy duties, while Kamindu Mendis will serve as deputy in both formats. The inclusion of power hitters such as Dasun Shanaka and explosive opener Lasith Croospulle signals Sri Lanka’s intention to adopt an aggressive approach in limited-overs cricket.
Spin will once again be spearheaded by Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana and Dunith Wellalage, while the pace attack features Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, Eshan Malinga and Binura Fernando.
The tour is expected to provide Sri Lanka with a crucial opportunity to test combinations in unfamiliar conditions against a traditionally strong Caribbean outfit. With several senior players returning alongside promising youngsters, selectors appear focused on balancing immediate success with long-term squad development.
Test Squad
Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Udara, Nishan Madushka, Dinesh Chandimal, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Kamindu Mendis (Vice-Captain), Sonal Dinusha, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva (Captain), Milan Rathnayake, Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Isitha Wijesundara.
ODI Squad
Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Pavan Rathnayake, Kusal Mendis (Captain), Janith Liyanage, Charith Asalanka, Kamindu Mendis (Vice-Captain), Milan Rathnayake, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, Eshan Malinga, Asitha Fernando, Pramod Madushan.
T20I Squad
Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Lasith Croospulle, Pavan Rathnayake, Kusal Mendis (Captain), Kamindu Mendis (Vice-Captain), Dasun Shanaka, Milan Rathnayake, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, Eshan Malinga, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara.
Cricket
New Zealand secure consolation win but Sri Lanka clinch series
New Zealand ‘A’ Women signed off their tour with a narrow five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka ‘A’ Women in the third and final T20 played at the Dambulla International Cricket Stadium on Monday.
Despite the defeat, Sri Lanka secured the three-match series 2-1 after winning the opening two encounters convincingly.
Asked to bat first, Sri Lanka endured a disappointing outing with the bat and were bundled out for just 78 in 16.5 overs. The home side never recovered after losing early wickets, with only skipper Sathya Sandeepani and Sanjana Kavindi reaching double figures in the top order.
Kavindi struck 15 runs with three boundaries before falling to Jess Watkin, while Sandeepani battled for 16 off 23 deliveries. Sumudu Nisansala added 15 runs, but the Sri Lankan innings continued to crumble against disciplined New Zealand bowling.
Jess Watkin starred with the ball, producing an outstanding spell of 4 for 4 in 2.5 overs to rip through the middle and lower order. Kayley Knight claimed two wickets, while Fran Jonas, Bella Armstrong and Marama Downes chipped in with one wicket apiece.
Chasing a modest target of 79, New Zealand also found batting difficult on the slow surface but managed to reach the target in 18.5 overs with five wickets in hand.
Prue Catton anchored the innings with an unbeaten 30 off 38 balls, holding the innings together after Sri Lanka struck regularly. Kate Anderson contributed 17 runs, while Kate Gaging remained unbeaten on seven at the finish.
Sri Lanka’s bowlers fought hard to defend the small total. Sachini Nisansala and Pramudi Methsara picked up two wickets each, while Chamudi Praboda accounted for New Zealand captain Jess Watkin.
However, Catton’s composed knock guided the visitors home as New Zealand earned a consolation win to end the tour on a positive note.
Cricket
KKR Bring in Luvnith Sisodia as Replacement for Injured Matheesha Pathirana
Kolkata Knight Riders have drafted in Karnataka wicketkeeper-batter Luvnith Sisodia as a replacement for Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana ahead of their crucial final league-stage fixture against Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026.
Pathirana has been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament after suffering a hamstring injury during KKR’s victory over Gujarat Titans last weekend. The Sri Lankan speedster, one of the franchise’s marquee signings at the auction, was bought for a massive INR 18 crore but endured an injury-plagued campaign.
The 23-year-old had already missed the early stages of the season due to a left calf injury sustained during Sri Lanka’s Super Eight campaign at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Although he eventually joined the squad in mid-April after recovering, his comeback proved short-lived.
Making his first appearance for KKR against Gujarat Titans, Pathirana bowled just 1.2 overs before leaving the field in visible discomfort with a left hamstring problem. Subsequent medical assessments confirmed that he would take no further part in the tournament.
In response, KKR have turned to Luvnith Sisodia, a promising left-handed wicketkeeper-batter from Karnataka. Sisodia has featured in 13 T20 matches at the domestic level but is still awaiting his IPL debut.
The youngster is no stranger to the IPL environment, having previously spent time with Royal Challengers Bengaluru before being picked up by KKR during the 2025 mega auction. His inclusion also strengthens Kolkata’s wicketkeeping options following injuries to Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who was sidelined after suffering a concussion and finger fracture earlier in the campaign.
KKR’s playoff hopes remain slim but alive heading into their final round-robin encounter. The defending champions will first need Rajasthan Royals to lose against Mumbai Indians. Even then, Kolkata must secure a convincing victory over Delhi Capitals to improve their net run rate sufficiently and overtake Punjab Kings for a place in the Eliminator.
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