Daily Mirror - Print Edition

Rs. 130 M if SL wins Cricket World Cup

05 Feb 2015 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}      

The Cabinet yesterday approved a payment of Rs. 130 million as an inducement to the national cricket team in the event they won the 2015 ODI World Cup to be held in New Zealand and Australia later this month.


Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Rajitha Senaratne said the proposal was put forward by Sports and Tourism Minister Navin Dissanayake.


“The proposal was made to acquire funds from the consolidated account but the Finance Minister assured that he could find the sum from private sector through sponsorships,” he said.


Meanwhile, he said the broadcasting rights for the 2015 World Cup was offered to the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) without a bidding process as there wasn’t adequate time to call for bids.


“In future, the broadcasting rights would only be given after calling for competitive bids,” the minister said, adding that a private TV channel which had earlier been given exclusive rights to broadcast cricket matches without following the proper procedures, was ordered to pay Rs. 1 billion as a fine.    (Lahiru Pothmulla and Sanath Desmond)