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Suspended Sri Lankan chief relieved of duties over TV allegations
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) -- The chief executive of the Sri Lanka cricket board, who accused colleagues of irregularities in shortlisting companies for television rights, was suspended Wednesday. "It was decided that the chief executive, Dhammika Ranatunga, should be relieved of his duties pending the completion of a preliminary investigation," Thilanga Sumathipala, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka, said in a statement. He did not give details about the investigation and board officials were not available for comment. Ranatunga also did not answer his phone. The statement said Anura Tennakoon, the board's operations manager, had been appointed acting chief executive. Ranatunga, also the brother of former cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga, complained to Sports Minister Lakshman Kiriella earlier this month that some board officials had used irregular procedures to shortlist companies seeking television rights for international matches. However, Ranatunga had declined to specify what those irregularities were. Two foreign bidders, The World Sports Group and Trans World International, were shortlisted last month for television, radio, and Internet rights to telecast Sri Lankan cricket games after both made offers of around US$25 million, according to Sumathipala. The crisis comes as the board investigates an allegation by India's federal police that Arjuna Ranatunga and star batsman Aravinda de Silva had either been offered money or paid money by bookies. The report by India's Central Bureau of Investigation was based mostly on testimony by one bookie and did not always differentiate between players who were allegedly approached with bribe offers and those accused of actually accepting them. Both Sri Lankan cricketers have denied the allegations. Meanwhile, de Silva does not figure in the team that will tour South Africa in December. The board said this was to make way for younger players. Sri Lanka's cricket board has been plagued in the past with allegations of irregularities, including organized violence during cricket board elections.
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