Sri Lanka players' contract issue resolved

	All smiles: The contracts issue has been sorted out © AFP Enlarge

The contract dispute between Sri Lanka Cricket and their players' association has been resolved after a meeting between the SLC interim committee hierarchy, chaired by Arjuna Ranatunga, the Sri Lanka Cricketers' Association (SLCA) officials and the team.

Under the new contracts, the annual retainers for senior team players remains the same, but there are raises for junior players in the national squad and substantial increases for A team players. Match fees for Tests, ODIs and Twenty20s have also been increased. Players will continue to be allowed to have media contracts and they agreed to play a minimum of 75% of the provincial tournaments.

SLCA secretary Graeme Labrooy said that the meeting was cordial and that all issues pertaining to the contracts were resolved amicably.

"To be frank there were no issues at all because everything was resolved peacefully in a cordial atmosphere," Labrooy said. "The new pay slabs for the players were also approved by SLC. There was a good response from both sides.

"SLC also agreed to back date the players' contract payments from March 1, 2008," he said. "The players will sign their contracts next week."

Meanwhile, SLCA president Sidath Wettimuny resigned ahead of Thursday's meeting to play a more active role as a member of the SLC interim committee. Labrooy said former PCA president Pramodya Wickramasinghe, who is currently vice-president, would act as president until next March when the AGM is scheduled to be held.