Trouble brewing in Sri Lanka ahead of India tour

Sri Lanka Cricket is engulfed in a bitter war among administrators, with a cartel led by former captain and current board chief Arjuna Ranatunga reportedly baying for the ouster of Don Anurasiri and selection chief Asantha de Mel.

Local newspaper Daily Mirror has learnt of a "fear of dictatorship in the country's cricket board" after SLC advertised for new selectors despite the fact that sports minister Gamini Lokuge had extended the term of the current four-man selection panel by two months, which was to expire this month.

In fact, sources close to the Australian and West Indies cricket boards, where Sri Lanka recently toured, have also complained about lack of cooperation from SLC.

Board members have been issued a gag order to not speak with the media of the brewing turmoil within the board.

India, who are set to tour Sri Lanka for a three-Test and five-ODI series in July, will be watching with keen interest with a large section of the media flocking to the country.

The paper adds the growing discontent between De Mel and Anurasiri, both appointed by the government, and Ranatunga's men is primarily for their outspoken ways.

Sri Lanka's coaching staff is also reportedly under the scanner. Coach Trevor Bayliss, who was appointed after Tom Moody's stint, is allegedly filling up the hours before he sets off for his next assignment at home in Australia.

Lasith Malinga, one of the country's premier bowlers who didn't tour the West Indies and then missed the lucrative Indian Premier League because of injury, has also not been looked after well by the coaching staff, it is learnt.

There are also reports of a rift between De Mel and Sri Lanka's A team coach, Chandika Hathurusinghe, also a former Test player, after the chief selector noticed the team's low performances.

De Mel also countered the coach about the quality of players being promoted from the domestic circles to which he went mum. Now, it is learnt, Hathurusinghe is also part of the cartel hell-bent on De Mel's ouster.