Sri Lanka players sign national contracts till end of 2021

Sri Lanka players had previously refused to sign national contracts, citing ‘lack of transparency’

Source:Island

Angelo Mathews isn’t among the 18 cricketers who signed the men’s national contracts, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced. It further said that the contract offered this time had no “deviation” from the earlier contract which was rejected by the players alleging lack of transparency.

SLC had revealed a five-point grading system back in May, bringing down the number of contracts from 32 to only 24. As differences continued over the nature of the contracts offered, the players signed “tour contracts” for their series against England and India as a makeshift arrangement.

The national contracts which came into effect on August 1 and will hold for a period of five months until December 31, 2021.

“The players were chosen under four categories and were nominated by the Selection Panel, based on a set of criteria such as Performance, Fitness, Leadership/Seniority, Professionalism/Code of Conduct, and Future/Adaptability,” SLC explained in a release. “The criteria and the allocation of points to individual players were shared among the players before they signed the contracts.”

Danushka Gunathilaka, Niroshan Dickwella and Kusal Mendis, who are currently serving a ban, weren’t considered.

Players who signed contracts:

Dhananjaya De Silva, Kusal Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne, Suranga Lakmal, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lasith Embuldeniya, Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dushmantha Chameera, Dinesh Chandimal, Lakshan Sandakan, Vishwa Fernando, Oshada Fernando, Ramesh Mendis, Lahiru Kumara, Ashen Bandara, Akila Dananjaya (Cricbuzz )