Shocked and dismayed, Sri Lankan players refuse to sign unfair central contracts

A day after Sri Lanka Cricket offered central contracts to its players, all 24 of them in unison have refused to accept the terms of the document calling it unfair and not in coherence with the demands of the players. 

The group of players through their attorney even alleged that they were being forced to sign the contracts in a haste on the day of their departure for the Bangladesh tour. 

In a press release, the players said that they are shocked and dismayed that the management committee of Sri Lanka Cricket chose to place the ‘graded’ contracts in front of the media, even before the players’ grievances were addressed. The release, undersigned by all three captains of the Sri Lanka national team in three different formats, Kusal Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne and Dasun Shanaka also alleged that the pay scale is in no way equal to what is paid to the players from other nations with respect to their board earnings. 

“Without placing the same (contracts) in the context of earnings of players in other cricketing nations, the entire earnings of Sri Lanka Cricket and also without disclosing the payments made to the officials/administrators, coaches and support staff of Sri Lanka Cricket, they made the players’ earnings public,” said the release.

“The players categorically state that the conduct of the Management Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket greatly concerns the players and has affected their self-confidence and peace of mind,” the release further added. 

While briefing the media about the new contracts, Tom Moody Director of Cricket, Sri Lanka and Arvinda de Silva, Chief of Technical Committee, said that the players have been graded on five different parameters and their pay scale has been decided through that. Challenging the grading system, the players alleged that it was not transparent. 

“None of the players have been provided with their individual assessment sheets setting out how points were awarded under the criteria of performance, fitness, leadership and professionalism,” said the release. “All national players, in unison, are of the view that the players should be made aware of the assessment scores of each player in order to ensure transparency of the categorization process,” it added. 

The release further goes on tearing apart the financial debauchery of the board where have seemingly offered very little pay although the grant from the International Cricket Council has not decreased one bit. The players were also hurt by the fact that, unlike other top cricketing nations, SLC doesn’t even have a pension scheme for players. 

“FICA (Federation of International Cricketers’ Association), the new remuneration intimated to Sri Lankan players is substantially lower (more than threefold lower) in comparison with other global cricketing nations. FICA also confirms that the sums paid by ICC to cricketing boards has not reduced during the last year nor has a reduction been forecasted for the following year. No pension scheme has been set up in Sri Lanka for its players either.”

In the end, the release reiterates that the players are not in agreement to sign unfair and non-transparent contracts, urging SLC to not hold the players at gunpoint or give them ultimatums. 

“Sri Lankan players will continue to be readily available to play and be selected for Sri Lanka,” it further said confirming that for players their nation comes first. 

The release was signed by Attorney-at-Law, Nishan Sydney Premathiratne, who is the official representative appointed by members of the Sri Lanka Cricket team, including Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Suranga Lakmal, KusaI Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya De Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Mendis, 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 Gunathillaka, Ashen Bandara and Akila Dhananjaya.