No fresh contracts for Kaluwitharana and De Silva

Sri Lanka's wicket-keeper batsman Romesh Kaluwitharana and veteran batsman Aravinda de Silva have not been offered fresh contracts with the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL).

The BCCSL will offer 12-month contracts to 15 players this weekend before Sri Lanka's 10-week tour of England. Four players will be given their first ever contracts.

Kaluwitharana, 32, played in three games of the recently concluded triangular tournament in Sharjah, but he was not picked for the Test matches in England, although he could still be added to the one-day squad.

For De Silva, 36, it was the second consecutive year that he has not been offered a contract. When contracts were offered for 2001-2002, shortly after England's tour of Sri Lanka, officials had privately questioned the commitment of De Silva and the value of providing a contract.

De Silva spent the year on the sidelines before being recalled into the training in January and then the Test squad last month. He now needs to prove that he can still retains the hunger to perform consistently at the highest level before he is awarded a new contract.

Players who have not received contracts can still be picked to play for the country on a tour and match fee basis. Indeed, there are five non-contracted players in the England squad.

The four new players to receive fresh contracts are Buddhika Fernando, Thilan Samaraweera, Hashan Tillakaratne and Avishka Gunawardene. The first three clearly gain their contracts on merit, after impressive performances during the past year, but Gunwardene's contract was a surprise having been dropped from both the Test and one-day squad.

That decision was apparently swayed by his young age (24) and the fact that over 40 One-Day Internationals are scheduled over the next 12 months.

One other surprise ommission is the talented Tillakaratne Dilshan. Just 25 years old and now back in the one-day squad, he has clearly been told to prove his value before being offered a contract.

Those that have been excluded still have a chance to secure a contract, as officials have indicated that three more will be awarded over the coming months because of this year's busy schedule.

Officials were reluctant to reveal the value of the new contracts until the players have signed for them, but last year the top players received an annual fee of US $ 40,000 with provisions to go over US $ 50,000 by way of bonuses and tour fees. Fringe players received significantly less.

The contracted players:

Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara Mahela Jayawardene, Russell Arnold, Hashan Tillakaratne, Thilan Samaraweera, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Buddika Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Dharmasena, Dilhara Fernando, Upul Chandana and Avishka Gunawardene.