Sri Lanka's sports law must be amended to endpolitical interference in cricket administration to sustain and improve thegame in the country, a report from a former top administrator said Tuesday.
The report by Haroon Logart, former chief executive of theInternational Cricket Council, was released Tuesday and suggests changing thelaw to comply with international standards.
The law currently bars any international team chosen byselectors being announced without the minister's approval.
Logart was hired by Sri Lanka Cricket to suggestimprovements and he has identified nine issues affecting the game and given 24recommendations to address them.
"Numerous comments infer that the minister appoints theentire selection panel," Logart said in the report he prepared afterinterviewing 42 people, including former national players, clubrepresentatives, administrators, SLC staff and media.
Successive Sri Lankan governments have been accused ofinterfering with cricket's administration.
SLC did not have an elected body for seven years andpolitical appointees ran the administration until the authorities werecompelled to hold an election earlier this year. The ICC last year made themmandatory for all national cricket boards.
However, a group favored by the government was electeduncontested after their rivals withdrew, calling the elections flawed.
ICC match referees and former players Ranjan Madugalle andRoshan Mahanama are among those interviewed.
The issues identified by the report include poor image ofSLC, an outdated constitution, weak finances, lack of professionaladministration, poor media relations, poor domestic cricket structure, selectionissues and lack of high performance facilities.
Among the recommendations are redrafting SLC's constitution,introducing code of ethics for all persons involved with the body, long termfinancial planning, empowerment of the CEO, a media protocol, restructuringdomestic cricket and establishment of a terms of reference for the selectioncommittee.