The Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka wishes to clarify the position regarding the Manager of the Sri Lanka team.

The present Manager of the team, Mr. Chandra Schaffter, requested the Chief Executive of the BCCSL, Mr. Anura Tennekoon, to inform him in advance if Mr. Schaffter's services would be required after the end of the tour to England, since he would need time to decide whether he would be in a position to undertake any future assignment. The Chief Executive brought up the matter at a meeting of the Interim Committee on the 14th of June, and it was decided that it would be necessary to make a change at the end of the England tour. The Chief Executive informed Mr. Schaffter of this decision soon after.

The BCCSL wishes to categorically state that Mr. Schaffter was never removed from the post of Manager, as incorrectly stated in several news reports. Mr. Schaffter had been appointed up to the end of the tour to England, as the BCCSL said in a media release on 20th March 2002.

At this meeting it was also decided to offer the post of Manager of the Sri Lanka team to Air Commodore Ajith Jayasekera with effect from 18th July 2002 for a period of two years, which he accepted. Air Commodore Jayasekera, who is a Member of the Interim Committee, had excused himself from the room during this discussion.

Air Commodore Jayasekera earlier served as Manager of the Sri Lanka team from December 2000 up to January 2002, which included tours abroad to South Africa, New Zealand and twice to Sharjah, as well as Test series at home versus England, India, the West Indies, and Zimbabwe, the Asian Test Championship Test versus Bangladesh, and triangular tournaments involving New Zealand and India, and West Indies and Zimbabwe.

© BCCSL