Sri Lanka Cricket will have to pay 60 million in compensation for forcibly removing Hathurusingha.

Sri Lanka Cricket has taken steps to settle the legal dispute that arose against the sudden termination of services of Mr. Chandika Hathurusingha, the former head coach of the Sri Lanka national cricket team. Accordingly, based on the agreement to conditionally withdraw the complaint filed with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland, the cricket governing body has agreed to pay him a compensation of USD 164,000 (approximately six crore Sri Lankan rupees).

Mr. Hathurusingha, who was successfully leading the Bangladesh national team, was appointed as the head coach of the Sri Lanka team on December 20, 2017, for a three-year contract period, at the invitation of Sri Lanka Cricket. However, by 2019, due to the team's competitive decline and several disciplinary charges, he was pressured to step down from his position. Although Mr. Hathurusingha requested payments for the entire contracted period, Sri Lanka Cricket unilaterally terminated his services by filing a charge sheet.

Stating that this decision caused severe damage to his reputation and resulted in the loss of due income, he took legal action before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. This internationally noticed crisis was also discussed by the Parliamentary COPE Committee, which recommended resolving it through agreement to avoid the high costs of legal proceedings. Meanwhile, a one-person investigation conducted under the chairmanship of a retired Supreme Court judge also concluded that Mr. Hathurusingha was guilty of several charges related to this incident.

Initially, Mr. Hathurusingha demanded a compensation of five million US dollars, but later reduced it to USD 450,000. Finally, in discussions held in Switzerland, both parties agreed to end the legal proceedings by paying this compensation amount, based on a demand that was around the two hundred thousand dollar mark. During his tenure as head coach, the Sri Lankan team won six out of 21 Test matches and lost 11, while winning only 10 out of 44 One Day Internationals (losing 29 matches). Furthermore, under him, Sri Lanka won four out of 12 T20 matches and lost eight.

The 57-year-old Mr. Hathurusingha, who has also served as a coach in countries like Canada and the United Arab Emirates, took over as the head coach of the Bangladesh team again in 2023 after leaving the Sri Lankan team. Currently residing in Australia, he has also represented Sri Lanka as a player in 26 Test matches and 35 One Day Internationals.