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Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Saturday announced that it was suspending all board-run domestic competitions in the country, citing a disagreement over the restructuring of these tournaments, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
"Sri Lanka Cricket has decided to immediately halt all board-conducted domestic tournaments. This includes the ongoing Major Club 3-Day Tournament and also the Invitational Club Tier 'B' 3-Day Tournament," SLC stated in a media release as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
The crisis dates back to 2021 when SLC attempted to overhaul its domestic structure, which critics had long seen as bloated. The concept, advocated by the now-defunct Technical Advisory Committee led by Aravinda de Silva, eliminated a two-tier system in favour of two groups of 13 teams.
The plan was for these 26 clubs to compete in three-day matches over the course of a season, with the bottom two teams from each group (a total of four) relegated for the first two years, and three teams demoted for the third. This would result in 15 teams competing in Sri Lanka's biggest domestic event, addressing criticisms about its bloated character while also allegedly encouraging a culture of higher standard cricket.
"Accordingly, Sri Lanka Cricket is compelled to suspend all SLC-organised domestic cricket tournaments until clarification is obtained on the same," concluded the media release.
The timing of such clarification is unknown, with the only certainty at the moment being that the continuance of Sri Lanka's domestic cricket season is in the hands of the country's sports minister.
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