Sumathipala set to regain presidency

Thilanga Sumathipala, the most powerful and controversial administrator in Sri Lanka's cricket history, is set to return for his fifth term as board president after the current incumbent, Mohan de Silva, announced on Friday that he would be stepping aside for Sumathipala, who has formidable support amongst voting clubs.

"Thilanga [Sumathipala] will contest this year's election," de Silva told The Island newspaper. "I give my fullest support to him and I have decided to step down from this year's elections. There is a lot of support for him amongst the member clubs and there's a feeling he should take over."

Sumathipala has built up such a strong coalition of political support since emerging on the cricket scene soon after the 1996 World Cup, especially among out-station clubs, that he was the power behind the throne and effectively president in all but name anyway during the past 12 months.

The decision to take a back-seat role in 2004 had been forced upon Sumathipala after his involvement in an embarrassing immigration scandal that led to his being taken into police custody for several months last year. While the case remains unresolved, the controversy has died down since Sumathipala was granted bail.

Sumathipala maintained a low profile for several months before bursting back into public life late last year in his capacity as the cricket board's "International Cricket Council envoy". This was followed by his high-profile appointment as Cricket-Aid chairman soon after the Boxing Day tsunami.

The nomination of Sumathipala, 40, was uncontested and at Sri Lanka Cricket's forthcoming annual general meeting his appointment will merely be rubber stamped. But his most outspoken foes, particularly Arjuna Ranatunga, who suffered a galling landslide defeat to Sumathipala in 2003, may make pleas to the government to intervene.

Ranatunga launched a stinging attack on Sumathipala last week, accusing him of bullying Sri Lanka's national players into boycotting a private charity function for tsunami victims involving Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne. No contracted players, apart from Murali, eventually turned up for the dinner.

But Sumathipala's opponents are unlikely to have success upsetting his plans. His political support and connections within the present government now appear quite strong, and it is inconceivable that he would not have been given the green light to contest from political heavyweights.

Sumathipala's greatest achievement during his first three terms was the construction of the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, a project completed in just 168 days. Aside from that, his financial acumen and strong negotiating skills have contributed to a sizable increase in broadcasting and sponsorship revenues during the past five years.

But there have been plenty of controversies along the way too, including unproven allegations of misconduct. The government stepped in and took over interim control of the board during two of his previous terms in office, in 1999 and 2000.

Ravin Wickramaratne, the current assistant secretary, has been nominated uncontested as the new secretary, one of the most important posts, while Aravinda de Silva is likely to retain his place as joint vice-president. The only contested appointments will be the tournament, tour organising, sponsorship and umpires committees.