Sri Lanka cricketers stick to their guns; refuse to sign SLC contracts ahead of Eng tour

Aggravating the growing turmoil within Sri Lanka Cricket, players of the national team on Saturday have refused to sign the central contracts over an alleged lack of transparency thereby casting doubts on the upcoming tour of England. The row, which began in May this year during Sri Lanka's tour of Bangladesh, saw players complain that the remuneration proposed by the board was more than 3 times lower than payments made to players of other countries. The board had set a deadline of June 3 for the 24 leading players to sign the contracts offered. 

However, the players in a collective statement have shunned the contract and decided not to enter into any future contracts for tours. Lankan players had made it clear that the contracts offered by the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) weren’t to their liking and also excluded some deserving performers. The annual retainership contract ranged between USD 70,000 to 100,000. Star batsman, Dhananjaya de Silva was set to be the highest-paid at USD 100,000.

Sri Lanka is expected to tour England from June 18 to July 4, where they will play three ODIs and an equal number of T20 Internationals. The tourists are expected to board the flight to the UK on June 9. Howsoever, the Lankan players have taken the high road and clarified that will not refuse to play for the country even when they have not signed the contract and SLC refuses to pay them salaries. Players claimed that the SLC decision had affected their self-confidence and peace of mind.

'We do have concerns about the contracts': Kusal Perera

Ahead of the Bangladesh tour last month, skipper Kusal Perera said that the issue had affected the cricketers. "We do have concerns about the contracts. We can't say it's not affecting us - that would be a lie and everyone would know it's a lie. But I'm hoping we can talk to the cricket board and resolve this fairly," ESPNcricinfo quoted Perera as saying ahead of the first ODI against Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's chairman of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) Aravinda de Silva has defended the new performance-linked pay system. Explaining the board's decision, de Silva had said that the contracts were a reflection of Sri Lanka's international ranking which has taken a dip across all three formats. 

Sri Lanka players who have refused to sign the contract

Kusal Perera, asun Rajitha, Lakshan Sandakan, Vishwa Fernando, Isuru Udana, Oshada Fernando, Ramesh Mendis, Lahiru Kumara, Danushka Gunathilaka, Ashen Bandara, Akila Dananjaya, Lasith Embuldeniya, Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Pradeep, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kamil Mishara, Praveen Jayawickrama, Roshen Silva, Minod Bhanuka, Chamika Karunaratne, Asitha Fernando, Binura Fernando, Shiran Fernando, Avishka Fernando, Ishan Jayaratne, Charith Asalanka, Dananjaya Lakshan, Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, Dananjaya de Silva, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella, Suranga Lakmal, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga