By Revatha S. Silva

 

SRI LANKA WHITE-BALL SQUAD FOR ENGLAND

1) Kusal Perera (Captain)

2) Kusal Mendis

3) Danushka Gunathilaka

4) Avishka Fernando

5) Pathum Nissanka

6) Niroshan Dickwella

7) Dhananjaya De Silva

8) Oshada Fernando

9) Charith Asalanka

10) Dasun Shanaka

11) Wanindu Hasaranga

12) Ramesh Mendis

13) Chamika Karunaratne

14) Dhananjaya Lakshan

15) Ishan Jayaratne

16) Dushmantha Chameera

17) Isuru Udana

18) Asitha Fernando

19) Nuwan Pradeep

20) Binura Fernando

21) Shiran Fernando

22) Lakshan Sandakan

23) Akila Dananjaya

24) Praveen Jayawickrama

[caption id="attachment_141710" align="alignleft" width="463"] Avishka Fernando who struck 104 runs against West Indies in July 2019 at Chester-le-street, is rejoining the Lanka white-ball squad after many fitness failures[/caption]

A 24-member Sri Lanka limited-over cricket team left Sri Lanka during wee hours today (12.30 a.m. on Wednesday).

The national selectors, headed by Pramodya Wickramasinghe, included left-arm orthodox spinner Praveen Jayawickrama, who recently took a record 11 wickets on his debut in Tests, in the final squad for England at the expense of pace bowler Kasun Rajitha.

The players had signed the England tour declaration last morning following a protracted and still-unsettled dispute over their annual contracts with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).

A last-ditch attempt to sort out the issue ended without any fruitful outcome on Monday (7) when the two parties had met inside the team hotel, Taj Samudra in Colombo. They had finally agreed to sign only the tour declaration on the condition, allegedly, that their main query --a substantial explanation by SLC on the process the players had been categorised for the contracts this time-- will be looked at favourably upon their return from the England series.

Sri Lanka were reportedly hampered by the lack of a left-arm leg-spin bowler during their last white-ball outing, against Bangladesh in Dhaka, prompting the selectors to include the 22-year-old in the final squad for England.

Sri Lanka are scheduled to play three T20Is followed by three ODIs, between 23 June and 4 July in England.

Contract dispute

[caption id="attachment_141696" align="alignleft" width="463"] Tom Moody, Director of Cricket, ready to leave for England with the team on Wednesday (9) at Taj Samudra, Colombo[/caption]

The cricketers agreed to go on the tour without signing their annual contracts. They have only signed the tour declaration for the England series alone. The contracts are to be re-negotiated and finalised after their return to the country.

As the Morning Sports reported yesterday (8), Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) officials had been adamant, during their discussions with the players on Monday in Colombo, that the players needed to sign the contracts while challenging them that they could be replaced by a second-string side to England had they failed meet the tour obligations.

A second-string side

Even before the discussions came to an end on Monday between the two parties, there were social media posts that named the “Sri Lanka second-string side”.

Before and during those negotiations, the cricketers’ query had mainly centred on requesting a clear explanation as to how the 24 contracted players had been placed in various payment categories, under the proposed scheme.

Now, SLC has formally promised to make those player evaluation marks available to each player once they return from England.

New faces

[caption id="attachment_141641" align="alignleft" width="461"] From left: Praveen Jayawickrama, Ishan Jayaratne, Dhananjaya Lakshan, and Charith Asalanka[/caption]

Meanwhile the 18-player squad who toured Bangladesh last month for a three-match ODI series, have been retained with middle-order batsman Ashen Bandara being the only exception. Bandara had reportedly been sustaining an injury during selections and could not have been able to recover in time.

Sri Lanka lost their previous Bangladesh ODI series 2-1 on 28 May.

Right-handed 23-year-old top-order bat Avishka Fernando is returning to the squad after missing out on two previous tours, to West Indies and Bangladesh due to under-par fitness.

The seven new players who are joining the squad for England after Bangladesh are Charith Asalanka (23 years, Richmond College - Galle/SSC, uncapped, right-arm off-spinner/all-rounder), Ishan Jayaratne (31, Wesley College/Ragama CC, uncapped, right-arm fast-medium/all-rounder), and Dhananjaya Lakshan (22, Richmond/Colts, uncapped, right-arm fast/all-rounder) and three former players Nuwan Pradeep, Avishka Fernando, and Oshada Fernando.

Leadership roles

Kusal Perera and Kusal Mendis will respectively be the Captain and Vice Captain of the Sri Lanka ODI side while the former will be the T20I Captain.

Perera replaces Lasith Malinga, who led Sri Lanka in their last home T20I series, and Dasun Shanaka, who was appointed as the Captain for the previous the West Indies tour but couldn’t make the trip due to a passport mishap.

Angelo Mathews led the side in place of Shanaka in the Caribbean islands. Mathews is not touring England this time, reportedly to be with his wife who is giving birth to their third child.

[caption id="attachment_141647" align="alignleft" width="463"] Romesh Kaluwitharana (left), will be the selector on tour. Here he is with the new physio of the Sri Lanka team Brett Harrop of New Zealand (centre)[/caption]

New contract scheme

In the player contracts now under negotiation, performance and fitness are the two main criteria. The two categories reportedly comprise 70% of each player’s overall mark, with 50% given for performance and 20% for fitness. 10% each will also accord for leadership, professionalism, and future potential/adaptability.

From the players’ side, the transparency issue has been the main concern. Their lawyer Nishan Premathiratne had reiterated on many occasions that they were always committed to play for Sri Lanka despite the fact that the two parties looked unlikely to reach a settlement during the past month or so.

After reaching England as, Sri Lanka will have two weeks before the commencement of the T20I series during which period they are scheduled to be involved in two intra-squad white-ball matches.