Fine Players for Every Loss? What Is Ranatunga Playing At?

Well, this one makes for a sad case.

The newly crowned Asia Cup champions, instead of celebrating their spectacular win in the finals, are ensued in a legal storm over player contracts.

Not have the Islanders, in the middle of a fantastic run in international cricket, are not even being repaid in peanuts, as their board hasn’t paid the players a penny for the past four months!

Of course, in a country still struggling with poverty and various political unrests, financial problems in a sport are understandable.

Yet, reports of Ten Sports paying half its deal’s worth, which helped the SLC settle debts worth Rs. 600 million, mean the board should be in a situation to reward its deserving players.

Therefore, it is highly shocking to hear the board chairman, Arjuna Ranatunga, make blasé statements, such as introducing measures such as fining the players for every loss!

This must surely be frustrating for someone like the youngster Ajanta Mendis.

Imagine being a young player, at the height of your prowess and fame, yet not making a penny, directly from the employers, at least, and on top of all that, getting threatened to keep performing, or loose even more money!

Now I don’t know the exact financial situation of Mendis, but Ranatunga, if he manages to go ahead with his “plan”, will make cricket a liability to its players, at least in Lanka.

A disincentive for performing poorly is fair enough, the Indian and Pakistani boards having been hard at work trying to come up with a performance based contract for the players. But actually making the players pay, even a person who performed well for a losing cause, is absolutely ridiculous!

Someone needs to take charge of the SLC, and FAST!