Sangakkara, Muralitharan named in SLC's four-member technical advisory committee

Colombo, February 5: Former skipper Kumar Sangakkara and legendary spinner Muttiah Muralitharan have been named in the four-member technical advisory committee announced by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Friday (February 5).

Former batsman Aravinda de Silva has been appointed as the chairman of the Committee on the recommendations by Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa.

Former batsman and ICC match referee Roshan Mahanama, a key member of the 1996 World Cup-winning team along with Muralitharan and de Silva, is the other member of the committee.

"Sri Lanka Cricket appointed the following members to the 'Cricket Committee,' taking into consideration the recommendations made by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Honorable Namal Rajapaksa," SLC said in a statement.

With Sri Lanka suffering a 0-2 loss against England at home in a two-Test series, a public outcry had surfaced to revamp the set-up to arrest the game's decline.

After a series of meetings, Rajapaksa had decided to restructure the current domestic first class set up, organise a new super provincial tournament and bring the national team under a team mentor, director cricket and a full-time team manager.

"The committee is expected to work closely with the SLC in order to raise the quality standards of the game both domestically and internationally," the sports ministry said.

Although this will be the first time that both Sangakkara and Muralitharan are going to get involved in SLC affairs, de Silva, whose century in the 1996 final against Australia helped Sri Lanka win the World Cup, had previously figured in the same role.