A team from Sri Lanka, that played in the just concluded T10 league in UAE, didn’t receive any match fees, Cricket Age learns.
A team named Colombo Lions featured in the inaugural T10 league from 13th to 17th December. Sri Lanka test captain Dinesh Chandimal led team had national players like Angelo Perera, Ramith Rambukwella, Shehan Jayasuriya, Vishwa Fernando. The team played three matches and lost all.
However, Cricket Age has learnt that the players were treated like amatures during the campaign. Initially it named Colombo Lions. Even the League organisers promoted the team by the same name during their pre-tournament campaign. However, last moment the name of the team had been renamed as Team Sri Lanka.
However, the most shocking thing was the regarding the payment. According to sources, the players from other countries were paid handsomely. every team had An icon player, and he received 35,000 USD for the entire league. Likewise, international players received 25,000 USD, First Class players 15,000 USD and Emerging players were paid 10,000 USD.
In comparison, Sri Lanka players received only 250 USD per day as daily allowances and that’s it.
They didn’t get a single rupee as their match fees, even though the jersey they wore during the league, had approximately 10 sponsor’s logo on its back, most amongst all the franchises.
Yesterday also, during the Chandika Hathurusingha first Press Conference, one journalist asked SLC President Thilanga Sumathipala about the impending payment of the players, but he ignored the issue, while stating that it was not a Sri Lanka team, instead was a provincial team. The question arises : Can a country’s test captain and several international players play without the approval from its board? And the much bigger question is : who robbed players money?
Cricket Age asked the queries to SLC CEO Ashley De Silva, but he didn’t respond.
