Aravinda de Silva slams Sri Lankan cricketers over refusal to sign new contracts

Legendary Sri Lankan batter Aravinda de Silva said that the current players should stop complaining and start winning games after a number of players refused to sign new contracts offered by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). The SLC said that 24 of the leading players had been offered contracts under four categories. Their deadline to sign the respective deals has been set as June 3. The players refusing to sign the deal believe that the pay provided by the SLC was less compared to that in other countries. Six players are in category A, and their annual pay ranges between USD 70,000 to USD 100,000. Dhananjaya de Silva will earn the highest, USD 100,000, with the rest of to receive USD 70,000 to USD 80,000. The contracts were made by a committee under Aravinda de Silva.

“We discussed this matter in depth before we presented it to the players. Unlike in the past, we have increased the benefits three-fold (300%) than what it was but purely on the team’s performance,” the former batter said. He also mentioned that the Cricket Committee the new system will infuse additional benefits than before as it is a performance-based scheme.

“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,” he added.

Of the players who believe that the pay in the contract is unfair are some of the big names in the current Sri Lankan cricket squad. The revolting players are reportedly being led by Sri Lankan Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne. The list includes players of great stature like the veteran Angelo Matthews and batter Dinesh Chandimal among others.

A STEEP DOWNFALL

The former World Cup-winning captain, however, was having none of it. Off late, the performances of the Sri Lankan national side have been dismal, to say the least. There has not been an infusion of good new talent in the side and the once-great cricketing side now looks like a shell of their former selves. It might end up in a West Indies-like situation and de Silva would do anything in his power to prevent that.

With the ICC T20 World Cup a few months away, Sri Lanka need to get their team in the best form possible and do away with all internal strifes. They recently lost an ODI series 2-1 against Bangladesh. Their next test is a three-match T20 series against England starting from June 23.