COLOMBO: Former Sri Lanka captain and legendary batsman Aravinda de Silva has asked the national team cricketers to “start winning games rather than complaining” as he defended the proposed annual players’ contracts prepared by the committee under him.
De Silva said the players’ rejection of the central contracts was “unfair”, because the Board is offering more for winning series against top-ranked opposition.
“It is very unfair that our players say that they are not agreeable to this scheme. The most important fact is they should get into the middle and play positive cricket and start winning games for the country rather than complaining.
“This positive approach will encourage us to consider offering them more benefits, like some of the other countries in our region,” de Silva was quoted as saying by ‘Daily News’.
Last week, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said that 24 of the leading players had been offered contracts under four categories and they had been given a deadline until June 3 to sign on dotted lines.
Only six players are in category A and their annual pay ranges between USD 70,000 to 100,000. Batsman Dhananjaya de Silva draws the highest (USD 100,000) while the rest of them were to receive USD 70,000 to 80,000.
Sri Lanka’s leading cricketers, led by Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne and a host of senior players including Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews, have refused to sign the central contracts that they believe offer far less compared to other countries.
—PTI

Press Trust of India