The decision was taken by the apex cricketing board after the ICC Board met on Tuesday.

Earlier, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) was suspended for breaching its obligations as a member, after ICC said that the country’s cricket board failed to manage its affairs autonomously and without government interference.

After the board meeting, it was revealed that Sri Lanka can continue to compete internationally both in bilateral cricket and ICC events. Though the funding to SLC will be controlled by the ICC and as a result, the U19 event has been moved to the South Africa that hosted the Women’s U19 T20 World Cup earlier this year.

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ICC Suspension:

After Sri Lanka’s dismal performance in the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023, the country’s Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe had sacked the national cricket board.

Ranasinghe then appointed Ranatunga to lead an interim committee to clean up the country’s cricketing scene. But Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal not only restored the Cricket Board, it also quashed the sports minister’s decision.

With so much politics happening and the government interfering in the cricket board, the ICC suspended Sri Lanka’s membership.

“The ICC Board met today and determined that Sri Lanka Cricket is in serious breach of its obligations as a Member, in particular, the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and ensure that there is no government interference in the governance, regulation, and/or administration of cricket in Sri Lanka. The conditions of the suspension will be decided by the ICC Board in due course,” ICC said in a release.

Though Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on 17 November called Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President Jay Shah and expressed regret over the remarks of Arjuna Ranatunga blaming him for the collapse of Sri Lankan cricket.

Revised format:

This would be the 15th edition of the U19 men’s event. In the last tournament in the West Indies in 2022, India had clinched the title for the fifth time.

According to the revised format, where a new Super Six stage after the Group stage to determine the semi-finalists has been introduced.

The 16 participating teams have been divided into four groups of four. Defending Champions India are joined by Bangladesh, Ireland and USA in Group A. Group B features England, South Africa, West Indies and Scotland. Group C consists of Australia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Namibia while Afghanistan, Pakistan, New Zealand and Nepal make up Group D.

The tournament begins from 13 January, 2024 and consists of 41 matches with the Final to be staged on 4 February.

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Updated: 21 Nov 2023, 05:55 PM IST