Sri Lanka Cricket to Deduct Salary of Players
Players who fail the exam will be reprimanded by having a portion of their annual salary deducted by the board.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has implemented a new set of rules for its contracted players in order to prevent fitness lapses. Cricketers will have to undergo and pass a more stringent fitness test starting next year in order to be considered for selection.
Earlier this year, the cricket board instituted a 2-kilometer fitness test run. The players had to finish the race in 8 minutes and 35 seconds. However, following a request from the Cricket Advisory Committee, the cutoff time was extended to 8 minutes and 55 seconds. But according to a report by The Sunday Times, the cricketers will now have to complete the 2 km test in 8 minutes and 10 seconds, as the board has introduced stricter fitness tests.
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Players who fail the exam will be reprimanded by having a portion of their annual salary deducted by the board. In addition, if a player doesn’t succeed in completing the run in under 8 minutes and 55 seconds, they will not be considered for selection in the national team. Sri Lanka’s Chairman of Selectors, Pramodya Wickremasinghe, said that their players’ fitness has improved significantly in recent months but they want it to develop even more.
“If a player ran the 2 km in 8.35 minutes in February, he should be able to do it under 8.10 minutes now. We want the players to really work hard on their fitness and we will not tolerate lapses in fitness,” Wickremasinghe was quoted as saying by The Sunday Times. The first of four fitness tests will be held on January 7, 2022.
Among the recent developments in Sri Lankan cricket is also the appointment of former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene as a consultant coach of the team starting next year.
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