Sports minister's power to appoint interim committees will be taken off: SL president
Colombo, Dec 9: Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe said he is mulling a regulation with which sports minister's power to appoint interim committees would be taken off.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) was suspended by the ICC for government interference last month and the global body has also shifted the U-19 World Cup to South Africa.
It was after Sri Lanka's sports minister Roshan Ranasinghe decided to sack the governing body and appoint an interim committee headed by World Cup-winning former captain Arjuna Ranatunga.
The SLC management had been fired by the sports minister based on irregularities in a government audit report concerning the board's expenditure on participation at the T20 World Cup in Australia last year.
Wickremesinghe sacked Ranasinghe for his action on November 27.
Addressing the 150th anniversary of the Colombo Colts Cricket Club, a leading domestic club, Wickremesinghe said he planned to rid the cricket administration completely of politics.
The existing 1973 sports law permits the minister to sack governing bodies while the minister must personally endorse all Sri Lankan national representation team selections.
"With the current commercialization of cricket it is important to keep the game away from politics," he said.
He said the current sports minister Harin Fernando was communicating with the ICC in order to lift the ban imposed by the world body.
The sports minister is to report to the court next week his position on the interim committee appointed by his predecessor.
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Over 270 flights delayed, 10 cancelled at Delhi airport
New Delhi (PTI): At least 10 flights were cancelled and more than 270 flights were delayed at the Delhi airport due to fog and low visibility conditions on Tuesday.
An official said 6 arrivals and 4 departures have been cancelled for the day.
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Over 270 flights have been delayed and the average delay time for departures is 29 minutes, as per information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com.
"Visibility at the airport is improving; however, flight departures for certain destinations may experience delay," Delhi airport operator DIAL said in a post on X.
The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital handles around 1,300 flight movements daily.
