A sword seems to be hanging over Sri Lanka’s limited-overs tour of England as the players expected to be selected refused to sign the tour contracts offered by Sri Lanka Cricket. Recently, the Sri Lankan men’s cricketers have been showing resistance to SLC’s new annual contracts scheme, as they reckon that the contracts lack transparency and do not adequately compensate senior players.
Although players have not been centrally contracted since last October when the previous round of contracts expired, series since then have been played under a succession of temporary tour contracts. But the players have now dug their heels in and are headed for a serious confrontation with SLC over the next 72 hours. The team is due to leave for England at 12.05 am on Wednesday (June 9).
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As per the quotes in ESPNCrocinfo, SLC’s lawyer, Nishan Premathiratne said, “Because of the problems with the transparency of the rating system devised by SLC, the players will not sign the [tour contract]. The tour contract also refers to matters of the annual [main] contract for 2021, which is yet unsigned. In the event, the annual contract is not settled and a dispute is pending, the validity of the tour contract referring to an unsigned contract is also an issue.”
According to a report in @ESPNcricinfo, Sri Lanka's upcoming tour of England is under threat after 38 players signed statements refusing to sign tour contracts offered by Sri Lanka Cricket. #ENGvSL pic.twitter.com/kF9k6fO0Xw
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) June 5, 2021
In addition to taking issue with transparency, the players have also stated they would prefer the only criteria for drawing up contracts lists should be player performance and fitness. However, SLC’s new scheme also considers leadership, professionalism, and future performance/adaptability.
The statement further explained, “In addition, the players have decided they will not sign the contracts until players who have performed well in past years are looked after fairly.”
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Players who have refused to sign the tour contract: Kusal Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, Dananjaya de Silva, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella, Suranga Lakmal, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lasith Embuldeniya, Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha, Lakshan Sandakan, Vishwa Fernando, Isuru Udana, Oshada Fernando, Ramesh Mendis, Lahiru Kumara, Danushka Gunathilaka, Ashen Bandara, Akila Dananjaya, Chamika Karunaratne, Asitha Fernando, Binura Fernando, Shiran Fernando, Avishka Fernando, Ishan Jayaratne, Charith Asalanka, Dananjaya Lakshan, Nuwan Pradeep, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kamil Mishara, Praveen Jayawickrama, Roshen Silva, Minod Bhanuka
Sri Lanka (and Ceylon)Sri Lanka in England
