Only fee hours ahead of the Island’s Domestic Tournament, the ongoing dispute between the Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) and one of the premier Tier B Club Galle CC is heading towards an ugly turn as the club officials are mulling over to go to court for pending payment of 2.5 Million, Cricket Age exclusively learns.
The tournament is scheduled to begin from December 14, with One dayers to be played first, followed by T20 league and three-day matches.
According to sources, today (December 13), all the members club are expected to sign the financial grant agreement with SLC for the tournament.
However, Galle CC officials, even though will go to SLC for the agreement, are still demanding membership Grant of 2.5 million. In the scenario of not getting the membership Grant before the start of the tournament, Galle CC is mulling over to go to court, but only for the payment, not to get injunction against the tournament. The Club is also considering to pull out of the tournament, however the final decision will be taken in today’s ExCo meeting. Galle CC’s another objection is that SLC didn’t provide agreement in one week advance, thus they will not get any time to consult with their lawyers.
SLC, on the other side, is still adamant on its stance to release the payment only after having an inquiry against Galle CC over certain allegations.
Cricket Age understands that a letter has been sent by Sports Ministry to SLC secretary Mohan De Silva, that says that the Board need to hold an inquiry. If not satisfied with the outcome of the inquiry, unsatisfied party can appeal to the Sports Minister. Referring to the letter, SLC is firm on its stance to hold an inquiry first, before releasing membership Grant.
