Sri Lanka government set up crisis panel to arrest cricket's rapid decline in the country

Colombo: Alarmed by the Sri Lankan cricket team’s rapid decline in recent times, the government is setting up a crisis panel to address the concerns plaguing the former world champions. Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera said on Wednesday he is to set up a special four-member panel consisting of senior officials who would convene a seminar within the next fortnight to look into the poor performance. [caption id="" align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Sri Lanka have lost all the matches of the ongoing series agaisnt India. AP[/caption] Sri Lanka’s national team is having a bad run since 2014, with the retirement of greats such as Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan. They have lost their number one ranking in T20 while sliding badly in the Test and ODI tables. This panel would involve former players, captains, former selectors, coaches, international experts, provincial cricket organisations and media. They would discuss the poor showing by the national team and look to identify the problem areas, Jayasekera told reporters. Since 2014, Sri Lanka lost home series twice to India, including the recent 0-3 Test whitewash in addition to defeats against Pakistan, Zimbabwe in the ODIs and the first-ever Test loss to Bangladesh. Most recently, a section of the crowd unleashed its anger on the players after the team’s nine-wicket thrashing by India in the first ODI, chanting ’no to politics, give us our cricket back’. The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) management has come under fire for interference in team selections.