Sports Minister intervenes in SLC-Club standoff
Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage has directed Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to first have a dialogue with disgruntled Premier League clubs and then get on with the 2012/13 season.
The minister told the Sunday Times, “I received the letter from some cricket-playing clubs and I understood that they have some grievances. So I directed Sri Lanka Cricket to have a dialogue with these clubs and arrive at a satisfactory solution before getting on with the tournament.”
SLC’s Cricket Committee comprising Graeme Labrooy, Dushan Soza, Kapila Wijegunawardena, Michael Zoysa, Ranjith Fernando, Asantha de Mel, Eric Upashantha, along with SLC representatives – Jerome Jayaratne, Ashley de Silva, Carlton Bernadus, Chandima Mapatuna, K. Mathivanan, Nuski Mohammed, Nishantha Ranatunga and Roshan Iddamalgoda recommended the changes to the Premier League structure that the Sunday Times revealed last week.
Explaining Sri Lanka Cricket’s stand SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said, “Yes, They are the stakeholders and we are ready to talk to the party who has complained about the changes and explain the rationale behind them. Prior to tabling the paper at the executive committee we sought the views of cricketers in the calibre of Aravinda de Silva, Sidath Wettimuny, Michael Tissera, Mahela Jayawardena, Kumar Sangakkara, Roshan Mahanama and Ranjan Madugalle and they were quite satisfied with the paper presented to them.
“However it also must be mentioned that if cricket in the country fails SLC and all its stakeholders should be held responsible in the end.”
SLC’s 2012-13 cricket season is scheduled to get underway in the first week of December with the launching with the Premier League Limited Overs Tournament. This tournament will go on until December 23.
On December 29 the Provincial Limited overs (50 overs) tournament is scheduled to begin and this tournament is scheduled to go on till January 15, 2013.
This tournament will be under the sponsorship of the SLPL franchise holders Somerset Entertainment Ventures.
Upon the completion of the one-day tournaments the more serious longer version tournaments get underway.
The three-day Premier League Club tournament is scheduled to begin on January 18, 2013 and the tournament will go on till the beginning of April – the Sinhalese Tamil New Year Holidays.
After the New Year celebrations, the cricketers will be back on the field taking part in the Provincial 4-day tournament yet again with the sponsorship of SEV.
In early June 2013 the club T-20 tournament will take place and the grand finale to the SLC 2013 season is once again the Sri Lanka Premier League T-20 tournament’s second season matches which will yet again bring some foreign flavour.
A spokesman for the SLC told the Sunday Times, “We are hoping to conduct the second edition of the SLPL in August 2013. We have kept the window for that. The only factor here is how we are going to arrange that with the dates of the series against South Africa which we are scheduled to host during that time.”
In July/August 2013 Sri Lanka is scheduled to host South Africa on a tour which will consist of three Tests, five ODIs and three T-20s.
However the SEV sponsored SLPL has also run into several problems lately, which includes player payments. and FICA chief Tim May has threatened organisers that they may not release the players for this tournament if bank guarantees are not given before the tournament and all players’ payments are not met.
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