New incentive scheme in Sri Lankan contracts

A win-bonus incentive scheme has been proposed to the Sri Lanka player's contracts which are due to be renewed later this month. An additional clause has been added to the proposed new contracts whereby their basic salaries will be reviewed and adjusted if the players don't perform well enough.

These are the main changes the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) interim committee has decided to bring about when drawing up the new contracts to encourage the national team to raise their performance levels. The annual contracts are due to be signed soon, although negotiations with the players have not yet commenced.

"The basic salary will remain as it is for the present but will be brought down after a few tours if they are not performing," said Duleep Mendis, the SLC chief executive officer. "We will assess their performances after about three to four tours and increase the incentives accordingly. We have laid emphasis for winning matches and series."

Since October 2005, Sri Lanka's form has dipped to the extent that they are currently ranked seventh in both Tests and one-day internationals. It is the lowest position they have attained since the ICC rankings system was introduced five years ago. The indifferent form shown by the team saw them win only eight of their last 25 ODIs and lose 17.

They are in danger of having to qualify for a place in this year's ICC Champions Trophy in India, unless they are able to lift themselves off the present position by winning against Pakistan in the upcoming three-match ODI series which starts on Friday.

Sri Lanka's player contracts system is tiered according to seniority with the top tier of players - Marvan Atapattu, Muttiah Muralitharan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Chaminda Vaas - receiving a basic guarantee fee of around $60,000. In addition, the players receive match and tour fees.

While the introduction of incentive payments is unlikely to be resisted by the players, any attempt to cap or reduce salaries, which remain extremely low in comparison to other international teams, may lead to the necessity for further negotiations between SLC and the players.