Sri Lanka cricket board third most corrupt: minister

COLOMBO: The governing body for cricket in Sri Lanka is the island nation''s third-most dishonest institution, the country''s new sports minister said on Monday.

"The first and second are education and police. Sri Lanka Cricket is the third-most corrupt institution in the country," minister Chandrasiri Bandara Ratnayake told reporters in Colombo.

Currently run by an interim committee, Sri Lanka Cricket has been dogged by financial scandals. The minister said he will disclose the financial misdeeds in the coming weeks.

Ratnayake has promised to clean up Sri Lanka Cricket which has grown rich through lucrative television and sponsorship deals for the country''s most popular sport.

The minister also added he would replace the current interim committee headed by former spinner Somchandra de Silva next week. There was no immediate comment from the committee members.

Ratnayake said he would appoint a new set of administrators to prepare for the cricket World Cup that Sri Lanka will co-host with India and Bangladesh in February-April.