Concerns raised on SLC administration

From Colombo Gazette

Concerns have been raised on some decisions taken by the current administration of Sri Lanka Cricket, with former cricket board administrators saying those decisions are costing the board heavily.

A joint communiqué by former administrators of the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board, noted that recent decisions made by the SLC Interim Committee headed by Sidath Wettimuni , is costing Sri Lanka  Cricket thumping amounts of money by the day and the managing of employees of SLC  are also viewed as extremely poor with strained employer/employee relations creeping in unlike before.

Many employees some with young families of their own are now  unsure  about their professional future with SLC whilst some have already received  notice that they have to go.

The joint communiqué notes that the biggest shocker of recent times is where it was only ‘Ten Sports’ who bid for the unscheduled Indian tour which is to take place in August. Due to being the only bidder ‘Ten Sports’ which obviously had got inside information offered to pay the paltriest of sums to SLC, which is now going to set a bad precedence on the long run. In this case Ten Sports’ has offered to pay SLC a minimal amount of US $ 1.4 million for the entire three test matches to be played against India. On a comparative note Bangladesh were paid US$ 1.5 million for a single test match against India last month, a fee which is three times that amount SLC has been offered.

If properly negotiated this amount should have been at least a minimum of US$ 6.5 to 7 million dollars which is the sum SLC is guaranteed to get paid when the scheduled Indian tour takes place in 2017. The loss of revenue even in this instance is bound to create a huge difference to SLC and moreover the sport of cricket overall.

“This is a clear indication of the interim committee has not been either competent enough to market one of the most valuable tours a country could obtain or on the other hand there were deliberate attempts by interested individuals to allow Ten Sports to obtain the rights of such a high valued tour at unrealistic market values ,” the joint communiqué said.

It is also interesting to mention that the broadcasting rights agreement SLC has with Ten Sports till 2020, the rights holder has provided a minimum offer of 10% less than the rates given for respective scheduled tours as per the tour schedule in the rights agreement for any unscheduled tours taking place.

The outgoing Executive Committee knowing the value of additional Indian tours, retained the rights of the SLC to go to the open market for tenders as there was always a possibility of obtaining much higher rates than the 10% reduction of the price offered by the rights holder.

This type of loss making decisions obviously has contributed to its current financial woes, whereby now it is SLC’s very own cricketers who are made to suffer.  Over 60 of them have had their contracts and monthly payments terminated with Wettimuny citing unacceptable reasons at a recently held press conference. The outcome  of this decision is going to have a huge impact in the future of Srilanka cricket , as most affected are players from the rural and outstation areas where in  some cases they are the sole bread winners of  their families. The lack of finances is deemed to be a huge deterrent to these players with many predicted to give up the sport for good due to the rising cost of living and also due to the sport of cricket itself being an expensive game. Emerging players are also going to be minimal due to financial constraints.

Former administrators of Sri Lanka Cricket are worried and concerned as the huge loss of revenue for Sri Lanka Cricket is definitely going to have a significant impact on the progress of Sri Lanka cricket , administration and the players. (Colombo Gazette)