Former Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) President Thilanga Sumathipala and former Interim Committee Chairman Jayantha Dharmadasa have welcomed the Supreme Court announcement that could pave the way for SLC board elections and said they would stand for president if elections are held.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court - hearing a case on the status of SLC's interim committee - suggested the parties come to a settlement on the issue and report back to it within two months, possibly with a view to holding elections.
Sumathipala who has served three terms as president, told the Daily Mirror he couldn't confirm whether he would contest the election but said he would form a team and have discussions with SLC member clubs. "If they want me to come forward, then I will not disappoint them.
"I was jubilant to learn the Supreme Court verdict. Now I have expectations that SLC will have a democratically elected set of officials, which is great for the game in this country," he said.
Dharmadasa, a businessman who had been SLC Interim committee chief from 2004 to 2007, said several member clubs of the SLC had already requested him to contest the elections. "I have accepted this and am ready to face any challenge for the sake of the game that I love."
"I feel it augurs well for the future of cricket in Sri Lanka to have democratically elected officials. I hope to resurrect the game which has fallen into so many controversies in the recent past and is in a bad way now."
Another candidate likely to be in the fray is Badureliya Cricket Club president Sumith Perera. "I am certainly going to contest for presidency if there is an election," Perera said. "That has already been decided by our club and the district"
United Southern Cricket Club president Asoka Mendis had filed a fundamental rights petition against Sri Lanka Cricket last year, on the grounds that the interim committee - first instituted in 2005 - had been had been appointed by the Sports Minister without the prior approval of the member clubs, bypassing the democratic process of elections. The club wanted the Supreme Court to prevent the interim committee members from holding office and functioning until the hearing is over. SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said that the Supreme Court had suggested "that both parties come to a settlement on the issue and report back to them within two months, possibly with a view to holding elections."