Finally, Sri Lanka cricket is on the verge of introducing new domestic calendar for next 3 years! season is set to kick-off with the Major Limited-Over Inter-Club tournament on 5 September and the Major League Inter-Club tournament from 10 September. Both tournaments will be run concurrently to each other and are due to be completed by the end of December. All 26 clubs will play in the League tournament in two groups of 13 teams each at the end of which the leader of each group will qualify to play in a 4-day final.
Following the completion of the Major League Inter-Club the top performers in the tournament will be picked by the national selection committee to form five teams that will play in a Super League Tournament which will run from end of January to mid-April after which the 2021-22 domestic season will end.
“This is the start of a new calendar and it will be there for the next three years or so. It’s immaterial who comes into the administration, a structure has to be in place for years and years. People just come and go and they change it and it’s a mess for everyone,” said new Tournament Committee chairman Samantha Dodanwela, who has undertaken the task of framing a domestic cricket calendar that could remain a permanent fixture for the future. Dodanwela is among most respected cricket personalities in Sri Lanka cricket.
Amid the speculations and confusion over the new domestic cricket structure in the Island, one of the top most decision maker of Sri Lanka had confirmed Cricket Age on August 10 that there will be only 15 First Class teams remained by 2023.
“From this year itself, we are intended of relegating 4 teams. Next year (2022) four more teams will be relegated followed by 3 in 2023. So, by 2023, we will bring down First Class teams from 26 to 15” the top most decision maker had told Cricket Age.
However, Sri Lanka cricket fraternity is still bit reluctant give it’s thumps up to the new domestic cricket structure. One of the most frequent question majority of stakeholders have raised is why the authorities are taking a long route of three years cycle to fix domestic cricket structure? Why they can’t simply take out first class status from segment B clubs right now?
“It can be done in a week, if the rules gets ratified at a SGM. Status is decided by SLC, not the clubs or court” president of a premier segment A club told Cricket Age.
Sri Lanka cricket’s highest authorities thinks otherwise! The domestic calendar for next 3 years has been supervised and submitted by legendary Aravinda de Silva led cricket advisory committee and the belief is that this is the most ‘sensible’ route to fix Sri Lanka cricket structure.
We can’t simply scrap first class status
“It’s not a solution (scraping First Class status). Instead, it will create more issues. Since decades, these clubs are the main stakeholders of Sri Lanka cricket. And, they have been given the First Class status by the board itself. So, it can’t be scraped overnight. In past, in same sort of scenarios, affected clubs had opted for court injections and it had forced cricket board to postpone the entire tournament. We don’t want to create same situation again” a top most Sri Lanka cricket authority told Cricket Age.
There is no discrimination, every club will be getting equal opportunity
“With this new domestic structure, all 26 clubs will be getting equal opportunities. So, then they can’t complaint. If they are good enough, they will remain among 15 First Class clubs by 2023. If not, they will be relegated. It’s fair process and best possible solution in moving forward” highest authority added.
We have to think about cricketers also
“If we simply scrap the First Class status from segment B clubs, aspiring cricketers will suffer big time. Every year, thousands of cricketers finishes their school career and then associates with these clubs and attains First Class status. The reason for playing the 26 clubs in two groups was to give more opportunities to the players. A club will play 12 matches in the League and the players who get selected for the Super League will be able to extend the number of matches further.”
With new domestic structure, cricketers will get visa easily to play in overseas
To play for overseas clubs and leagues, cricketers needs to participate in at least five First Class matches. With this domestic cricket structure, more deserving players will be getting the chance to fulfill this criteria. By 2023, there will be less number of deserving clubs and players will be remained in the domestic cricket system. Then we will be able to pay them more and look after them in all aspects. At the same time, fringe players will be getting First Class experience by that time. It will provide them a chance to get visa easily and more opportunities to play for overseas clubs.”
We don’t want paper clubs
“At present, there are many paper clubs in Sri Lanka cricket. After introducing this new domestic structure, these paper clubs will automatically be eliminated. Else, they will have to improve overall to remain in the system. Under this new domestic structure, performance of the clubs is not the only parameter. They will be judged by other facilities as well, like – their own ground, side wickets, swimming pool, gymnasium” the top most Sri Lanka cricket authority concluded.
