SLC and players to sign their Contracts

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and its players have agreed in principle to the central contracts for the next year, bringing to an end almost five months of negotiations and avoiding a potential stand-off over Sri Lanka players participating in the inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL).



On Monday, Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, had said the country's cricketers may decide against taking part in the SLPL if the Sri Lankan board doesn't "settle" the players' central contracts. The agreement between the two sides means the players no longer have any objections to taking part in the Twenty20 tournament.


"Player contracts will be signed tomorrow or day after," Nishanta Ranatunga, the SLC secretary, told a web site. "It has been agreed upon by the players and the board." Sri Lanka host India, starting July 21, for five ODIs and one Twenty20 game, and Ranatunga was confident the contracts would be in place for the series.


The new contracts will run from March 1, 2012 to February 28, 2013 and the players have agreed to the same contract and match fees as the previous contract. There was a discussion about requiring the players to seek prior permission from SLC before speaking to the media, but that clause did not make it in to the final version of the contract. However, if a player does make comments considered detrimental to SLC, they could face a disciplinary committee hearing.