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The Sri Lanka cricket board has given its revolting players an ultimatum to sign the new contract by June 3. 

According to reports, if the Sri Lankan cricketers fail to sign the contract within the stipulated deadline, then they will be put on tour contracts which means specific contracts for specific tours. 

For the unversed, 24 Sri Lanka cricketers including Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Dimuth Karunaratne and a few other senior players had refused to sign the new contract offered by the board with lower base salaries and more performance-based incentives.

As per the new contracts offered, only six players are placed under category A with the annual pay ranging between USD 70,000 to 100,000. Interestingly, Dhananjaya de Silva will receive maximum pay while others will receive between USD 70,000 to 80,000.

Formulated by the Tom Moody and Aravinda de Silva-led Cricket Committee, the new contract has been evaluated on ive points: performance, fitness, leadership, professionalism, and future potential and adaptability.

“The performance during the last two years carries 50 points while 20 points are given for fitness. The other three attributes carry ten marks each. The allocation was done by the coach, the three selectors and the physical performance manager. The information is restricted to those involved in the grading process. But players unhappy about how they were slotted believe they have a right to know every detail of how their points were tabulated,” a Sri Lanka daily called ‘Sunday Times’ reported.

Meanwhile, in the statement issued on behalf of the cricketers, attorney Nishan Sydney Premathiratne said the players are ‘not in agreement to sign unfair and non-transparent contracts and urge SLC (Sri Lanka Cricket) to not hold the players at gunpoint or give the players such ultimatums’.

The Sri Lankan cricket team is currently in Dhaka to play a three-match one-day series against hosts Bangladesh. The island nation lost the first ODI by 33 runs and they will look to level the series on Tuesday, May 25.

Featured photo: Ishara S. KODIKARA / AFP



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