In an unprecedented move, the Sri Lanka School Cricket Association has changed age limits of Under 19 cricket twice, within a period of four months, leaving many school level cricketers in confusion. 

the Sri Lanka School Cricket Association, in a letter dated March 09, 2016, informed all school principals that the age limit of Under 19 cricket teams had been changed. According to the letter, any player born on or after January 01, 1997, was allowed to play Under 19 cricket. 

However, four months later, on July 20, 2016, the same association sent another letter to school principals, re-imposing the previous age limit. The association attributed the sudden policy change to a circular issued by the Ministry of Education. 

"The sudden change took us by surprise. When the earlier age limit was announced, a lot of players planned their Advanced Level examinations accordingly. But, the sudden policy change has baffled all their plans. The School Cricket Association has acted in an utterly irresponsible manner," a disgruntled principal said, commenting on the development. 

"Policy changes of this nature are not made overnight as they deal with the future of our school children. They should be given a fair time to adjust to new changes. In this instance, the officials have attempted to play with the future of our school level cricketers," he further added. 

When contacted, a highly placed source at the Sports Ministry said a senior official attached to the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) was behind the sudden change, in July. 

He said the decision to change age limit had been reversed to allow the SLFP official's son to captain his school cricket team during the big match. The official, the source said, had exerted pressure on school cricket authorities to reverse the decision.