Players call for transparency in performance-based fee structure after agreeing to pay cut
Nishan Sydney Premathiratne (Attorney-at-Law)
Despite a significant pay cut, national cricketers have in principle agreed to a new performance-based contract fee structure but have insisted that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) be transparent through the process to avoid anyone being unfairly affected or feeling hard done by.
Representing the players, Attorney-at-Law Nishan Sydney Premathiratne held discussions with SLC on Thursday to spell out their concerns and avoid any possible pay dispute that could arise due to the new performance-based fee structure. The Board responded positively to concerns.
The national players are not in a strong position to make demands at this point, given how poorly they have performed across all formats internationally. This was a key reason why the Cricket Committee headed by Aravinda de Silva drew up the new structure. Sri Lanka is ranked 7th in Tests, 9th in ODI and 8th in T20 internationals, the lowest it has fallen to in the last two decades. SLC will contract 30 cricketers for the year 2021/2022.
The players will be categorised according to a new points system into three groups giving priority to levels of fitness, discipline, performance in international and domestic cricket during the last two years and overall value to the team.
The new pay structure sees a substantial reduction of the annual contract fees.
A player in the top category according to the previous contract earned $130,000 and it hovered around $160,000 in 2015. Even though the figures looked huge in a Sri Lankan context, they are among those poorly paid in world cricket at present, probably just ahead of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Zimbabwe among full members. A top category player in India earns an annual fee of $1 million.
“The meeting was very positive regarding clarity in respect of contract fees and payment structures. Though there has been an overall reduction in the slabs in comparison to last year, the players are in principle in agreement to the new formula through the performance-based model in ascertaining contract fees, subject to the process being transparent, where no player will be unfairly affected or feel hard done by,” said lawyer Premathiratne, who was appointed by Test skipper Dimuth Karunaratne and the team to negotiate all matters relating to their contracts.
In the event any player is unfairly affected by the new model when compared with the previous year, Premathiratne has suggested that SLC should consider a remuneration increment based on his performance.
The players are yet to be categorised and players are awaiting a response during the next couple of days to sign their agreements before heading to Bangladesh for a three-match ODI series.
“Also, if a player who has performed well during the relevant period is unfairly affected by the new model (in comparison to last year), it was proposed on behalf of the players for Sri Lanka Cricket to consider the performances of such players (whoever the player is) and recognise such in a due and fair manner to address any drastic disparity. A few other matters were also communicated on behalf of the players which SLC was very obliging to consider and accommodate. Overall, the players are confident that the contracts would be formalised and finalised this week,” he added.
| Proposed annual payment structure (Each category has three tiers with three different base fee ) | |
Tier 1: $100,000
Tier 1: $65,000
Tier 1: $50,000
Tier 1: $35,000 |