August 10, 2007	Friday	Rajab 25, 1428

COLOMBO, Aug 9: A depleted selection panel picked Sri Lanka’s Twenty20 World Championship team on Thursday following a spate of no-shows and resignations from the committee, Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge said.

Authorities had wanted five selectors on the panel but only two were available to pick the team for the 12-nation tournament next month.

Lokuge had originally appointed Asantha de Mel, Ranjith Madurasinghe, Don Anurasiri, Ranil Abeynayake and Mahes Goonathilake as selectors for the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on July 31. Abeynayake and Goonathilake declined to take up the job, forcing the sports minister to change his mind and ask a previously sacked selector, Amal Silva, to rejoin the panel.

Silva also refused, claiming he felt slighted to be dropped in the first place.

“Amal Silva has resigned and I asked the SLC to pick the team with the three available members,” Lokuge stated.

But with Anurasiri managing the Sri Lanka ‘A’ team in England, only de Mel and Madurasinghe were at hand to choose the national squad.

Goonathilake said he would become selector only if it was a full-time paid job, but the sports minister declined.

“We cannot have full-time paid selectors for sports,” Lokuge said.

“But I have told Sri Lanka Cricket that I have no objection if the selectors are given an allowance and other perks such as official transport”.

—AFP