Cricket: Sri Lanka players finally paid

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said it had paid all outstanding dues to its players, ending a period of uncertainty for the cash-strapped governing body and the nation’s cricketers. The players had only been paid partially since the 2011 World Cup after the cricket board ran up debts of $69 million due to the development of new infrastructure for the showpiece tournament. Sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage last month asked the state-run Bank of Ceylon to release $5 million to the SLC to tide over the crisis. “The board is pleased to inform the public and the media that our national players have been paid all their dues in full,” read an SLC statement. It did not say how much was owed to the cricketers.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2012.