Contract dispute in Sri Lanka Cricket settled

Sri Lanka Cricket has confirmed that 17 players have agreed to sign the national contracts. The players were unhappy with the new performance-based contracts which they claimed were to reduce their renumeration.

Lasith Malinga was absent from the list of players under category one of national contracts.

Ending a week of uncertainty, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Thursday said that 17 players have agreed to sign the national contracts. The players were unhappy with the new performance-based contracts which they claimed were to reduce their renumeration.

Senior players, including captain Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal and Rangana Herath had intense talks with the SLC boss Thilanga Sumathipala over the dispute. No player had signed the contracts by the 12 noon deadline on Thursday.

This forced the authorities to send a second-string side on the forthcoming tour to Zimbabwe. A notable omission from the list of players under category one of national contracts was Lasith Malinga, who only plays ODI and T20 internationals.

SLC sources said contracts would be signed by Saturday.