The Ministry of Sports and Tourism has approved the same squad presented bythe national selectors for the forthcoming Coca-Cola Cup
Rex Clementine13-Jul-2001The Ministry of Sports and Tourism has approved the same squad presented bythe national selectors for the forthcoming Coca-Cola Cup.The Sports Minister, Lakshman Kiriella, had earlier refused to approve the15-man squad, questioning the omission of off-spinner Thilan Samaraweera.Normally the players selected need the approval of the Minister of Sportsand generally the names are approved by the Minister. But this time theMinister controversially refused approval, insisting on Samaraweera’sinclusion.The Minister refused approval for two days but this evening the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka released the names of players approved by the minister, which didn’t contain the name of Samaraweera.When CricInfo contacted the Sports Ministry authorities to clarify thelatest developments, the officials were unavailable for comment.