• Says it’s a misnomer to call it compensation 
• Pramodya not part of the process 

Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) Transformation Committee had made an ex-gratia payment to four of the five-member former Selection Committee headed by Pramodya Wickramasinghe, having looked at it from ‘a humane perspective’ over their abrupt removal last May.

This was confirmed to The Daily Morning Sports, on Sunday (2) by the Secretary of the Transformation Committee Prakash Schaffter, who is currently in Toronto, Canada.

He stated that it was both a fabrication and misnomer to refer to the payment as compensation, and pointed out that it was mostly from a humane standpoint that the Transformation Committee had resorted to carry out its actions.

“I refuse to term it as a form of compensation, because it was not so,” Schaffter said. “It would be apt to describe it as an ex-gratia payment having looked at purely from a humane perspective, over the predicament faced by them over their removal,” he observed.

The Transformation Committee Secretary however, agreed that former pacer Pramodya Wickramasinghe was not part of the ex-gratia payment afforded to the previous Selection Committee.

Schaffter pointed out that to his knowledge no member of the previous Selection Committee had sent any LODs (Letters of Demand) to the Transformation Committee, as they were not paid employees of the sport’s domestic governing body at Maitland Place.

He further refuted claims that the Transformation Committee led by ex-lawmaker Eran Wickramaratne, had offered privileges to two of the previous members of the Selection Committee, namely Tharanga Paranavithana and Vinothan John, respectively.

It has been alleged that the SLC as part of the privileges package offered via the settlement process, Paranavithana had been offered a role with the Sri Lanka ‘A’ team, while John had been offered a position with the Sri Lanka Emerging team.

Asked whether his Transformation Committee had resorted to its actions in order to avoid legal action from the previous panel over their dismissal, he stated that as far as he was concerned that scenario would never have arisen, as they were not employees of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in the first place.   

Schaffter further added that the ex-gratia payment had been made around a fortnight ago, encompassing a period of three to four months linked to the ousted Selection Committee. 

However, the CTC Secretary could not be drawn on the precise amount of the ex-gratia payment made to the former selectors. 

Informed sources claimed that the Transformation Committee had ultimately settled for four months salary at Rs 800.000 per month.

After a 30 per cent government tax deduction, each of the four individuals had been entitled to Rs 2.4 million in total approximately or about Rs 600.000 per month, these sources alleged.  

The former Selection Committee chaired by Wickramasinghe and also featuring the likes of Indika de Saram, Tharanga Paranavithana, Vinodhan John, and Rasanjali de Alwis, was formed on 16 December 2025 on a two-year term.

However, following the setting up of the Transformation Committee, a new Panel helmed by Kapila Wijegunawardena was named on 21 May this year, and it also includes former internationals Amal Silva, Brendon Kuruppu, ex first-class cricketer Waruna Waragoda and its sole female voice Venessa de Silva.

Reports at the time confirmed neither any formal reasons were adduced nor any due process followed when dismissing the Wickramasinghe headed Panel.