Sri Lanka likely to increase contracted players

Sri Lanka are planning to expand the number of contracted players almost threefold when they draw up a fresh list for the national team. Last year only nine players were signed up, and their contracts expired on February 28, 2005. The interim committee of Sri Lanka Cricket is currently in the process of finalising the new contracts and this includes increasing the number of players upto a maximum of 25. The contracts are expected to be for a 12-month period, during which time Sri Lanka will play seven Tests and 25 to 30 one-day internationals.

According to the Daily News, the nine players who got central contracts last year will all be retained. Six of those nine - Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardene, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara - are in the top tier, while Thilan Samaraweera, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Chandana are in tier two. There will be four categories in all.

The newspaper also indicated that the selectors had already categorised the players and sent the list to the interim committee for approval. Tryphon Mirando, the interim committee secretary, stated that the committee was in the process of negotiating the financial terms with the players, and that the final contracts would be ready within a week.

Meanwhile, four of the contracted players - Jayasuriya, Muralitharan, Vaas and Chandana - are expected to finish their county stints and return home by June 23 to prepare for next month's two-Test series against West Indies and the triangular one-day tournament which will also involve India. Tom Moody, the new coach, is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka on June 18 to take charge of the national team. The coming months will be a busy period for the A team as well, as they will be involved in a series against West Indies A, who will arrive in the country on June 16 to play two unofficial Tests and five one-day matches.