Earlier this week, Sri Lanka Cricket’s introduced a new points-based grading system that would act as a means to determine a player’s annual salaries. It is creating a ruffle among players, who are reportedly threatening to retire unless SLC are willing to be more transparent.
With the new system influencing their earnings significantly, Sri Lankan players have demanded greater clarity about the process of how they are being graded.
According to the new system, the cricketers under the Sri Lankan board will be categorized into four groups: fitness, discipline, how they fared in international and domestic cricket in the last couple of years. Leadership skills and overall value a player brings to the side will also be an important determinant while slotting players into different categories.
However, the players seek clarity from the SLC on how the points are allocated on different metrics so that they can work on their skills accordingly and get better earnings. If the grading system is implemented, the higher the points, the greater a player’s annual salary will be.
“Each individual player very correctly believes they are entitled to a disclosure on the points allotted which categorized their ranking,”
the representative among the players, Nishan Premathiratne stated as revealed by The Sunday Times.
“Transparency would also create unity and harmony. All players are in unison seeking this information. Transparency is paramount so that the players also know how they were assessed and what weaknesses they need to address,”
he added.
Part of SLC’s management committee, Ashley de Silva, said the new regulation was created after making amendments that the players only asked for. De Silva added that the board is aware of the players’ concern and that they are in the process of ultimately sharing the process’ details with them.
“The players have appointed a lawyer and they wanted certain amendments to be done in the agreement which our lawyers have done. Now we are in the process of sharing it with the senior players. So far nobody has said that they are not going to sign it,”
De Silva said.
Players’ fallout with the board is the last thing Sri Lanka cricket needs at this point in time as it suffers from an unprecedented decline in results across formats.
Maladministration of the game and corruption have weakened the school system and club structure that were essential to Sri Lanka’s growth in the 90s and early 2000s. To avoid having to revamp the whole thing, SLC has made one tweak after the other to the side, with captains and coaches removed as suddenly as they were appointed in the first place.
Sri Lanka have had 11 different captains in the last five years, with constant changes resulting in chaos and uncertainty for the side. Quite a few of them have had really short stints at the helm, suggesting constant chopping and changing.
Since 2010 they have had 15 captains across formats, and the inconsistency has played a part in the team’s dwindling results. In all formats, Lanka are placed eighth or below in the ICC team rankings points table.
If their ODI ranking does not improve, it could result in them not making to the 2023 World Cup without playing the qualifications with the minnow nations. That responsibility will now lie on Kusal Perera, their new ODI captain. Dasun Shanaka will continue as the T20I captain for the tour of Bangladesh.
