Court halts SL cricket vote as crisis deepens

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal on Wednesday suspended elections for the crisis-ridden cricket board, whose president Thilanga Sumathipala is being challenged for the top job.

The Court of Appeal suspended for two weeks a vote due to be held Thursday pending the hearing of a petition by Nishantha Ranatunga, who argued that Sumathipala is unsuitable for re-election.

“The court issued a stay order on the elections till June 14,” a court official said.Sumathipala is pitted against Ranatunga, a younger brother of Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga, in the election.The Ranatunga brothers accuse Sumathipala of violating ICC regulations by holding office despite alleged links to gambling.