Sri Lanka Cricket’s interim administration is pushing ahead with major reforms while hoping to retain the hosting rights for the inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy, even as uncertainty grows over whether the tournament will actually take place in Sri Lanka.
The six-team T20 event is scheduled to be held in February 2027. However, concerns about political interference in the administration of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have raised the possibility of the International Cricket Council (ICC) moving the tournament to another country.
Interim Committee chairman Eran Wickremaratna, appointed by Sri Lanka’s sports minister, said the administration was determined to fundamentally restructure the cricket board.
“We are very committed to really correcting from the very foundation. We are not backing out,” Wickremaratna said, according to PTI.
The issue has already been discussed with the ICC. Interim Committee member Prakash Schaffter said the governing body had indicated roughly two-and-a-half months ago that it was considering venues outside Sri Lanka for the competition.
Although the ICC has not formally communicated a decision, citing governance concerns involving SLC, Schaffter said the interim administration hopes its reform measures could convince the world body to allow Sri Lanka to host the tournament.
Former Sri Lanka captain and interim committee member Kumar Sangakkara also underlined the need to maintain a positive relationship with the ICC while the country works to resolve its cricket governance problems.
Sangakkara said the administration was currently moving through the process of developing a new constitution before eventually establishing an elected governing body.
The current interim administration assumed control in April after the previous SLC leadership was asked to step aside following allegations of mismanagement and corruption.
Sri Lanka’s sports minister later formed a Transformation Committee tasked with restructuring the board’s constitution and implementing governance reforms.
The proposed changes, however, come amid the ICC’s established position that governments should remain independent from the administration of national cricket boards.
Sri Lanka’s interim officials are therefore under pressure to show that their reforms can address domestic concerns while also meeting the ICC’s expectations regarding the independence and governance of the country’s cricket administration.
