de Mel appointed selection chairman

Ashantha de Mel, the former Sri Lanka fast bowler, has been appointed chairman of the national selection committee. The new-look panel, appointed by the government, also includes Amal Silva, Don Anurasiri and Shabbir Asgerally.

de Mel, 46, replaced Lalith Kaluperuma, a former spinner, who chaired a controversial four-man panel that faced mounting criticism from the local media in recent weeks. de Mel previously served as chairman for a year, a tenure that included a public fall-out with Marvan Atapattu after the captain was dropped for a two-Test series against Pakistan. At that time, de Mel vowed not to return unless given his own team.

On his secont appointment, de Mel said he would change Sri Lankan cricket for the better if changes were made to the domestic cricket structure. "I have always said I was willing to take on the job again only if there is a decent selection committee," he told reporters. "We are appointed for a year and within that confined space of time we need to put into place strategies to improve our local tournaments. Standards are deteriorating because there is some problem with the system in place. We need to sit and bring out some good ideas to put Sri Lanka's cricket back on track."

The new committee's first task will be the selection of Sri Lanka's one-day squad for a five-match series in England in June and July.