National cricketers’ writ petitions fixed for further hearing on May 28

Colombo, May 22 (Daily Mirror) - The writ petitions filed by Sri Lanka National Cricket players challenging the classification of Sri Lanka’s national cricketers as employees of the national association, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) were today fixed for further hearing on May 28 by the Court of Appeal.

Court of Appeal (Acting President) Justice Mohammed Laffar and Justice K. Priyantha Fernando issued this order pursuant to writ petitions filed by ODI Captain Charith Asalanka, Test Captain Dhananjaya de Silva, and national women’s cricketers Chamari Athapaththu and Anushka Sanjeewani.

Counsel Nishan Premathirathne, appearing on behalf of the petitioners, stated in court that the petitioner cricketers are not employees of Sri Lanka Cricket.

He argued that the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue has incorrectly interpreted national-level cricketers as employees of Sri Lanka Cricket under the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Act No. 45 of 2022.

President's Counsel Kuvera de Zoysa, appearing for Sri Lanka Cricket, also stated that the petitioners are not employees but rather independent service providers.

Deputy Solicitor General Manohara Jayasinghe, appearing for the respondents, maintained that players who have entered into contracts with the Sri Lanka Cricket Board are interpreted as its employees under the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Act.

The petitioners file these applications seeking judicial review on behalf of all national cricketers of Sri Lanka who are deeply affected by the alleged arbitrary and unlawful decisions of the IRD and the actions of the SLC on categorising national contracted cricketers as employees of SLC.

The petitioners filed the petition seeking for notice to quash the decision of the Inland Revenue Department and an interim order to suspend the decision of the IRD.