Following the wave of defeats Sri Lanka has suffered in the past eight months the five-member national cricket selection committee headed by former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya tended their resignation to Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera yesterday.
The Sports Minister said that the five members had met him yesterday and outlined the reasons for resigning.
The selection committee comprising Jayasuriya, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Ranjith Madurasinghe, Eric Upashantha and Asanka Gurusinha have already selected the squads for the last two ODIs and the one-off T20 International against India and will remain in force till the tour ends on September 6.
The selection committee and Sri Lanka Cricket administrators have come under severe criticism from all quarters in recent weeks following the poor performances by the national cricket team.
Sri Lanka has already conceded the ongoing five-match one-day international series to India 3-0 after losing the third match played at Pallekele on Sunday by six wickets where irate spectators held up play for more than 30 minutes throwing plastic bottles onto the field.
That defeat came after Sri Lanka had been drubbed 3-0 in the Test series by India.
Prior to the Indian series Sri Lanka had for the first time in their history lost a Test match to Bangladesh and a one-day international series to Zimbabwe – two teams that are ranked well below them.
Further they were whitewashed by South Africa both in the Tests (3-0) and ODIs (5-0) series and they also had a disappointing Champions Trophy campaign failing to get beyond the qualifying stage.
A media release from the Ministry of Sports states a combined letter bearing the names of the five selectors had conveyed their decision to the Sports Minister and according to the letter their tenure will end on September 7.
Initially a four-member selection committee was appointed with Jayasuriya as the chairman in May last year and Gurusinha was added onto it in April.
The national selectors have been under the microscope of criticism with the mounting defeats and for not being consistent with their selections. Jayasuriya had defended their stance stating the number of injuries was the cause for fielding 51 international cricketers across all formats that includes 40 in ODIs alone.
Last month the Sports Minister extended the term of the national selection committee for a further six months till 31 December 2017. A new committee will be appointed by the Sports Minister in consultation with Sri Lanka Cricket ahead of next month’s cricket series against Pakistan in the UAE.
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