Sri Lanka players sign national contracts till end of 2021, Angelo Mathews misses out

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), on Friday, announced a list of 18 players, who signed national contracts, which came into effect from August 1. Earlier, the Sri Lanka players had refused to sign the contracts, citing a lack of transparency regarding the conditions outlined by the cricket board. The contract will be in place for a duration of five months and will come to an end on December 31, this year.

SLC had revealed a five-point grading system back in May, bringing down the number of contracts from 32 to 24. As differences continued over the nature of the contracts offered, the players signed "tour contracts" for their series against England and India as a temporary arrangement. 

"The players were chosen under four categories and were nominated by the Selection Panel, based on a set of criteria such as Performance, Fitness, Leadership/Seniority, Professionalism/Code of Conduct, and Future/Adaptability," SLC explained in a release. "The criteria and the allocation of points to individual players were shared among the players before they signed the contracts."

The notable omissions were former captain Angelo Mathews, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, and Niroshan Dickwella. While Mathews is currently unavailable for the selection procedure, the other three are serving a ban for breaching Covid-19 protocols and as a result, weren't even considered for the contracts. 

Players who signed contracts: Dhananjaya De Silva, Kusal Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne, Suranga Lakmal, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lasith Embuldeniya, Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dushmantha Chameera, Dinesh Chandimal, Lakshan Sandakan, Vishwa Fernando, Oshada Fernando, Ramesh Mendis, Lahiru Kumara, Ashen Bandara, Akila Dananjaya