President Ranil Wickremesinghe underscored his desire for a resurgence of cricket in the country, linking its revival to the broader economic recovery.

He made these remarks in response to a journalist’s inquiry during a meeting with heads of media organizations at the Presidential Secretariat this afternoon (14).

The President has further answered to journalists as follows :

Question : 1.4 billion has been allocated for the development of cricket in this year’s budget, but it has been banned so far. Do you have a plan to lift the ban on cricket?

Answer: The discussion with the International Cricket Council has been delegated to the Cabinet Sub-Committee appointed by the Cabinet regarding Cricket. Efforts are underway to negotiate and reinstate the suspended matches. The allocated 1.4 billion in this year’s budget is intended for the development of cricket skills among school children. While there are no issues in the Western Province, our focus is on fostering cricket development in other provinces. We aim to allocate funds in a similar manner until 2030 with the goal of attaining the top position in the world.

We won the World Cup in 1996 because of the program led by Mr. Gamini Dissanayake. During that time, I undertook initiatives for school cricket players, and Sir. Garfield Sobers came to Sri Lanka to assist us. If the fallen economy of this country can be rebuilt, cricket can also experience a revival.