COLOMBO, May 11: Sri Lanka's sports minister said on Friday he wants a new committee elected to run the island's cricket administration, which is currently managed by political appointees.

“I need to hold elections not only for cricket, but all other sports bodies that are currently governed by interim committees,” Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge said.

The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is under an interim committee appointed by Lokuge's predecessor, Jeewan Kumaratunga, in March 2005.

That was the third time since 1999 that the government had intervened to appoint panels to oversee the cash-rich cricket administration.

Lokuge said holding an election could take time as there were outstanding issues but he did not elaborate.

“I want to hold elections as soon as it is legally possible to do so,” he said.

The SLC has been embroiled in a complicated legal process ever since former president Tilanga Sumathipala's executive committee filed suit in March 2005 to block an order to dismiss his administration on grounds of mismanagement.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) in April 2005 recognised the incumbent interim committee headed by businessman Jayantha Dharmadasa as the lawfully appointed body empowered to conduct the SLC affairs. —AFP