Dialog, country’s flagship telecommunications service provider, has been accused of defaulting approximately 100 million rupees to Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) in a sponsorship related matter, Cricket Age exclusively learns.
Being the present main Sponsor of Sri Lanka national team, Dialog had agreed to pay SLC Rs. 147 Million for media projects and domestic matches, as a part of the agreement in 2016.
However, now, as the last date of clearing the outstanding is before March 31, it has learned that the Dialog and SLC are not on the same page!
Cricket Age understands that the Dialog Second in command and management officials had many rounds of negotiation with SLC CEO Ashley De Silva in last few months, regarding the outstanding balance. According to sources, first Dialog tried to offer a lesser amount (47 million) citing the poor performance of the national team. In recent weeks, Dialog CEO Sapun Weerasinghe has also approached SLC for an amicable settlement.
“We have not received payment from the Dialog till date. We are still waiting for their response, as the last date to clear the outstanding balance is March 31” a top SLC administrator told Cricket Age, when inquired on the matter.
It has also learned that, in past, the Dialog officials had requested to former Sports Ministers Faizer Mustapha and Harin Fernando as well, in order to sort out the matter. According to sources, the top officials of Dialog, a subsidiary of Axiata Group Berhad (Axiata), are making these efforts, ahead of the internal audit by the paternal company. However, things couldn’t materialized, as now both SLC and Dialog are at loggerheads over the outstanding balance!
Note: This story has been exclusively investigated, researched by Cricket Age. Thus, republishing the news without giving due credit is prohibited.
