Colombo, Sri Lanka

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah has been offered a formal apology by the Sri Lanka government on Friday (Nov 17) after controversial remarks made by former skipper Arjuna Ranatunga. A row had broken down between the Sri Lanka former players and current administrators after Ranatunga, a former World Cup-winning captain, blamed Shah for the current dismal situation of Sri Lankan cricket that has seen them getting banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

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Sri Lanka offers apology

"We as a government express our regret to the Asian Cricket Council Cheif Jay Shah. We cannot point our hands at the Asian Cricket Council Secretary or other countries for the shortcomings of our institutions. It is a wrong assumption," Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said in the Sri Lankan parliament.

On Thursday, Ranatunga claimed that Shah has been running the Sri Lanka cricket administration that saw the fraternity divided in the nation.

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What did Ranatunga say?

"Because of the connection between SLC officials and Jay Shah, they (the BCCI) are under the impression that they can trample and control SLC. Jay Shah is running the Sri Lanka Cricket. SLC is being ruined because of pressure from Jay Shah. One man in India is ruining Sri Lankan cricket. He is only powerful because of his father, who is India’s home minister," Ranatunga had said on Thursday.

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The nation now has a big task in hand as things have gone from bad to worse in recent times.

Sri Lanka finished ninth in the league standings after just two wins in the ODI World Cup, which saw them miss out on an automatic spot in the 2025 Champions Trophy.

Interference from the government in the SLC matters led the ICC to put an indefinite ban on the board.