More incentives for on-field performances in new contracts – SLC

By Amindha de Alwis

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) yesterday defended the new central contracts offered to national cricketers saying that despite the reduced base salary there were significant incentives being offered for on field performances. 
CEO of SLC Ashley De Silva stated that while the players may have some reservations on the value of the retainer fees offered to them and their respective categorisations, the total amount allocated for player payments has in-fact been increased this year.

“If you make a comparison with the previous year, in the year 2019/20 we have allocated Rs. 259 Million and in 2021 we have allocated Rs. 282 Million for player payments. The Technical Committee was also of the view that we should also put more money on the field to recognise team performance,” he said. 

“We have had discussions with players and explained to them. If they are having concerns they will only have concerns about the retainer fee offered to them but I do not think they should have concerns mainly because we have put more money on the field. All the other payments are at a higher level,” De Silva said.

Under the new player contract scheme, 24 cricketers are to be awarded National Player Contracts while upto six further players would be eligible to receive Domestic Development Contracts.

As previously reported, wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella and all-rounder Dhananjaya De Silva have been placed in the top-most category (A1) with a retainer fee of USD 100,000. 

Angelo Mathews -- the top earner in the previous contract list signed in 2019 -- and Kusal Perera have been offered A2 grade contracts while Test skipper Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis are in the A3 category.
In all, 34 cricketers were awarded national contracts in the previous period which commenced in November 2019, but while that number has been culled to 24, Director of Cricket for SLC Tom Moody explained that a further six development contracts as well as incremental contracts are still up for grabs.

“It is a considerable reduction in (the) number of contracts offered but there will also be offered Domestic Development Contracts where up to six of the best performing domestic players and those who just miss out on a national contract will be considered by the selectors. The aim is to have those contracts focused on players under the age of 25. Then we have the incremental contracts and that is basically for players who have not received a contract for the year but play enough international games to qualify for a contract,” he said
Moody further conveyed that the points-system for ranking players was developed based on five main criteria.
“The overall scoring system is based on fifty points for performance, twenty for fitness, ten for leadership, ten for professionalism and ten for future potential and adaptability,” Moody revealed.

Chairman of SLC’s Technical Advisory Committee Aravinda de Silva expressed that they wanted Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to assess players rather than being over-reliant on human judgement.

“We wanted to have some sort of a KPI’s for the players to evaluate them at the end of every year. It is a  process which I am sure is in the best interest of the game and the  players,” he said.

“At least to start off we have got a base now and obviously the idea is to improve on it on a yearly basis and keep improving it to reduce the human element of judgment.”
Cricketers offered central contracts have been given a deadline of June 3 by which they are expected to sign, according to de Silva.

With the national team currently in Bangladesh for a three-match ODI series, the players have been given an additional period of time to go through the terms of the new performance-driven contracts upon their return to the island.

“The players who have gone on the tour of Bangladesh have signed a tour-by-tour contract. We have given them until June 3, to read and sign the contracts,” de Silva said.

Meanwhile, Head of the National Selection Committee, Pramodya Wickramasinghe, speaking on the recent appointment of Kusal Perera as Sri Lanka ODI captain, commented that the dynamic left-hander has been given the tours of Bangladesh and England to prove his captaincy credentials which will determine whether he will continue as skipper going forward.

“When choosing the captain, we were looking at the 2023 World Cup and we wanted a player with a permanent spot in the starting XI. It was based on that thought that we decided on Kusal Janith (Perera). However, we have given him two tours for now; we have conveyed our expectations to him and what he must do is prove himself as a leader. If he is not working out, we will look at another option,” Wickramasinghe said.