News
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–Afghanistan Series Postponed Amid Regional Tensions
Sri Lanka Cricket has decided to postpone the upcoming limited-overs series against Afghanistan in the United Arab Emirates due to the current situation in the Middle East, sources confirmed.
The series, which was scheduled to run from March 13 to 25, included three T20 internationals in Sharjah and three ODIs in Dubai. However, growing security concerns following reports of Iranian strikes across parts of the region have forced officials to reconsider travel and hosting arrangements.
Both cricket boards are understood to be in discussions to reschedule the fixtures once conditions improve. The decision comes at a time when Sri Lanka is also focusing on strengthening its domestic fitness programme, with selectors emphasizing that physical readiness will be a key factor in future squad selections.
Cricket
Jayasuriya Hands Over Resignation as Sri Lanka Head Coach
Cricket legend Sanath Jayasuriya has formally handed over his resignation as Head Coach of the Sri Lanka national team, following the side’s disappointing World Cup campaign.
It is learnt, the resignation was submitted on Thursday after discussions with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) President Shammi Silva. Jayasuriya, who took charge with hopes of reviving the team’s fortunes, decided to step aside after the tournament’s poor showing.
Despite stepping down, Jayasuriya will remain involved in Sri Lankan cricket. In a significant transition, he has been assigned to lead the High Performance Centre, where he will oversee player development and the broader cricketing structure.
Sri Lanka Cricket has yet to announce a replacement for the head coach role, but officials confirmed that talks are underway to identify a candidate capable of steering the national side forward.
Cricket
Afghanistan Names New Captains for Sri Lanka Series as Rashid Khan Steps Down
Afghanistan cricket has entered a new phase of leadership as selectors announced sweeping changes ahead of their upcoming white-ball series against Sri Lanka. Following the team’s early exit from the ICC T20 World Cup, star all-rounder Rashid Khan has been relieved of his captaincy duties. Ibrahim Zadran will now lead the T20 side, while Hashmatullah Shahidi has been entrusted with the ODI captaincy.
Despite losing the armband, Rashid remains a key figure in Afghanistan’s plans, with his name included in both squads. The selectors have opted for a balanced mix of seasoned performers and promising youngsters, signaling a strategy to rebuild while maintaining stability.
The T20 squad features explosive opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, alongside Ibrahim Zadran, who will captain the side. Veteran Mohammad Nabi adds experience, while spin remains Afghanistan’s strongest weapon with Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Sharafuddin Ashraf forming a formidable attack. Young talents like Sediqullah Atal and Darwish Rasooli have also been given opportunities, reflecting the selectors’ intent to groom the next generation.
On the other hand, Hashmatullah Shahidi will lead the ODI side, supported by experienced campaigners such as Rahmat Shah and Mohammad Nabi. The batting unit includes Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, while wicketkeeping duties will be shared between Gurbaz and Ikram Alikhil. The bowling attack is spearheaded by Rashid Khan, with support from Zia ur Rahman Sharifi, Farid Ahmad Malik, and Nangyal Kharotai. Reserves include Qais Ahmad, M. Saleem Safi, and Bashir Ahmad, ensuring depth across departments.
Security Concerns Cloud Series
The series, scheduled from March 13 to 25, was to feature three T20Is in Sharjah and three ODIs in Dubai. However, escalating regional tensions—sparked by reports of Iranian strikes and claims surrounding the death of Iran’s supreme leader in alleged U.S.–Israeli attacks—have raised serious doubts about security and travel. Cricket authorities are monitoring the situation closely, with contingency plans under discussion.
ODI Squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (Captain), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil (WK), Rashid Khan, A.M. Ghazanfar, Zia ur Rahman Sharifi, Farid Ahmad Malik, Nangyal Kharotai, Bila Saim.
Reserves: Qais Ahmad, M. Saleem Safi, Bashir Ahmad.
T20I Squad: Ibrahim Zadran (Captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Noor Rahman (WK), Shahidullah Kamal, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Zia ur Rahman Sharifi, Fareed Malik, Abdullah Ahmadzai.
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