Sri Lanka Name 24 Member Squad for England Tour, to Continue Pay Negotiations Later

Sri Lanka’s cricket board Tuesday named a 24-member squad led by Kusal Perera for the six-match limited overs series in England even as a pay dispute remained unresolved.

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The Sri Lankan squad will leave early Wednesday to play three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 matches.

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Official sources said the players have refused a performance-based pay scheme which will see some of them lose up to 40 percent of their salaries, but agreed to continue negotiations after the England tour.

Sri Lanka cricketers had been complaining that the method used for calculating contracts was not transparent. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), has said it will reveal the detailed calculations stressing there is transparency.

“This is the transparency the players had been requesting from the outset. They will play this tour without signing any contract. They have signed a voluntary declaration, but there is nothing there about player remuneration. They have always been committed to playing for Sri Lanka,” Nishan Premathiratne, players’ lawyer, was quoted as saying by espncricinfo.com.

As many as 38 Sri Lankan cricketers had refused to sign contracts last week, citing lack of transparency.

However, with the issue sorted now, the team will depart for England on June 9 as per schedule. Sri Lanka are scheduled to play the first of the three T20Is against England June 23. The three-match ODI series will begin on June 29. Besides, they are to play two tour matches, against Kent and Sussex.

However, Aravinda De Silva, a former Sri Lanka captain, had earlier said the details of the new contracts were discussed thoroughly before being presented to the players and it rewards performances.

“We discussed this matter in depth before we presented it to the players. Unlike in the past, we have increased the benefits three-fold than what it was but purely on the team’s performance. If they win a Test series, we pay them USD 150,000 which was earlier limited to USD 50,000. It has to be a collective effort by the whole team,” de Silva told Daily News.

He advised players to focus on winning matches instead of complaining about the contracts.

“We also introduced a slab for the T20 format, which also runs up to a maximum of USD 50,000, which earlier didn’t have any rewards at all. The most important fact is that they should get into the middle and play positive cricket and start winning games for the country rather than complaining. This positive approach will encourage us to consider offering them more benefits, like some of the other countries in our region. If the team creates value, their incentives will also go up,” he said.

The squad: Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Pathum Nissanka, Niroshan Dickwella, Dhananjaya de Silva, Oshada Fernando, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ramesh Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Ishan Jayaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Isuru Udana, Asitha Fernando, Nuwan Pradeep, Binura Fernando, Shiran Fernando, Lakshan Sandakan, Akila Dananjaya and Praveen Jayawickrama.

(With AFP inputs)

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