Only 17 players have given consent to sign the central contracts of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) according to a communiqué issued by SLC today in the evening.
This ended a lengthy dispute between the players and SLC over the new contracts which have several pay-cuts for the cricketers. The annual contracts have been drafted to enable the players to benefit based on their performances.
In the last couple of days, many reports were published regarding meetings and the players declining to sign the contracts. SLC are yet to announce the categories or the amounts which these players have agreed upon.
17 national contracted players
Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Rangana Herath, Kusal Janith Perera, Dimuth Karunarathne, Kaushal Silva, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Dhananjaya De Silva, Dushmantha Chameera, Danushka Gunathilake, Milinda Siriwardena, Kusal Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandaken, Jefferey Vandersay.
Some of the newcomers to the international scene in the likes of Mendis, Sandakan, Vandersay, Dhananjaya, Chameera and Gunathilake have been granted central contracts for the first time.
This move to get the consent of these 17 players have largely come due to the upcoming two-match Test series against Zimbabwe later this month as the team will leave the Island on Monday night.
Earlier it was reported that about 30 players will be signing national contracts apart of the 65 Youth/Emerging/Senior players. The notable absentees from the 17-man list are injured fast-bowling duo, Lasith Malinga and Dhammika Prasad while experienced players, Thisara Perera, Seekkuge Prasanna, Upul Tharanga and Sachithra Senanayake have also not been named.
 according to a communiqué issued by SLC today in the evening.){kind=link}