ICC Squad Terms saves nine
What would have been a complete breakdown of ties between the national cricketers and Sri Lanka Cricket was averted at the eleventh hour, as the nation’s cricketers took wing to Bangladesh after signing the ICC Squad Terms.
Squad Terms is an ICC stipulation which is customarily signed by all players before a major tournament conducted by the sports governing body. The Squad Terms is included in the Match Participation Agreement which is signed between the respective board and the ICC.
Pondering the pros and cons - Pic by Amila Gamage
The standoff between cricket authorities and national cricketers reached a crisis point last evening just hours before they took wing to Bangladesh, with Sri Lanka Cricket insisting that they either sign the annual contract or withdraw from the T-20 World Championship.
However sanity prevailed at the last moment when the Lankan cricket authority let the cricketers go on their forward march after signing the Squad Terms.
Sri Lanka Cricket Secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said last evening, “After a lot of soul searching, we allowed the cricketers to go ahead with the signing of the Squad Terms. However as a matter of policy we are not ready to shift our stance on the players’ annual contracts. That remains the same. In 2011 and 2012 we have spent two billion rupees on these 18-20 players. Even to build the three stadiums we spent only Rs. three billion and that is an investment in cricket. But what we spend on the players is just soaked in. Now what is happening is something akin to trade union action by the players.”
However, it was learned that the authorities were also contemplating sending a second-string side to the ICC Championships if the stalemate continued as they had initially registered thirty names with the ICC.
Players initially had rejected the incentive-driven payment scheme offered by SLC because that proposal did not satisfy their call for a percentage cut of the gross sum paid by the ICC to the Lankan cricket authority for global tournaments. The players had earlier demanded 20% of the sum, but they have now indicated they would be happy with 12%.
Ranatunga added, “We have included the proposal in their agreement. Under the new scheme we have offered, a top rung player will receive around Rs. 60 million a year in earnings which will include contract payment, match fees, winning bonuses and other benefits. We think this is a very fair deal and it is an SLC Executive Committee decision.”
The SLC Secretary also pointed out that in other countries the maximum that a national team would get was around 26% of their total earnings, and said, “But in Sri Lanka it is around 50% — being spent among the top 18 players.”
The ICC is scheduled to pay SLC around US$ 8.9 million for the World T-20 Championship. Under SLC’s proposal, the team would receive a guaranteed $ 500,000 for playing in the tournament, plus a further $ 250,000 for reaching the final, then another $ 250,000 should they win the tournament.
“It is not only the senior team that we have to look after. We have to develop the game all-round. During the last twelve months we have had four ‘A’ team tours. Each of these has cost us around Rs. 20 million. Reciprocally in the Asia Cup-winning squad there were eight players who had elevated from the ‘A’ team. If we are forced to neglect junior cricket, Lankan cricket will get lop-sided,” Ranatunga said.
Meanwhile Chief Selector Sanath Jayasuriya, who initially played the role of mediator between the players and the SLC and thus coaxed the players initially to travel to Bangladesh, said, “Yes, I did promise the players that I would talk to the SLC and get them a percentage, but I did not specify as to how much it would be. I think the 6% offered by the authorities is fair but the players are insisting that they should get a flat 12%.”