Arthur Crabtree wrote:https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/04/kumar-sangakkara-politics-sri-lanka-cricket
Might have been this, which implies what I was saying above.
do remember that but it is a tough one considering Sri lanka were a financial mess and the world cup did leave them close to bankruptcy at the time.
Can't find much from the article that suggest money was taken out of the sports.
Accountability and transparency in administration and credibility of conduct were lost in a mad power struggle that would leave Sri Lankan cricket with no consistent and clear administration. Presidents and elected executive committees would come and go; government-picked interim committees would be appointed and dissolved.
"After 1996 the cricket board has been controlled and administered by a handful of well-meaning individuals either personally or by proxy rotated in and out depending on appointment or election. Unfortunately to consolidate and perpetuate their power they opened the door of the administration to partisan cronies that would lead to corruption and wonton waste of cricket board finances and resources.
All it really suggest that money was wasted and resources were not used properly.
"It was and still is confusing. Accusations of vote buying and rigging, player interference due to lobbying from each side and even violence at the AGMs, including the brandishing of weapons and ugly fist fights, have characterised cricket board elections for as long as I can remember.
"We have to aspire to better administration. The administration needs to adopt the same values enshrined by the team over the years: integrity, transparency, commitment and discipline.
"Unless the administration is capable of becoming more professional, forward-thinking and transparent then we risk alienating the common man. Indeed, this is already happening. Loyal fans are becoming increasingly disillusioned. This is very dangerous because it is not the administrators or players that sustain the game – it is the cricket-loving public. It is their passion that powers cricket and if they turn their backs on cricket then the whole system will come crashing down."
Not really sure any of it suggest money was taken out and would be a big leap for him to make that statement considering Sri lanka board spent a lot of money on the World cup and new stadiums/better pitches etc for the world cup and are in no financial situation to even do anything about it in the next few years or ever really.
What I think kumar is really saying is that politics and selection should be separate, not sure if Jaysuriya was the mp at the time and a selector and basically the government picked the team and Jayasuriya and the selectors or the captain didn't get on.
Sanga wasn't really a big fan of being forced to pick players or annoyed for not having the squad he wanted at times.
Struggling to find evidence of Sanga ever saying money was taken out of the game, although do know he was annoyed how the game was run and the domestic structure but he never actually stated money was taken out.
Always thought he was more annoyed about the political interference than the money side of things, since he mostly understands that money is often tight for the board, although he does have a point on the 3 day first class competition.