Doubt over Sri Lanka tour

SRI LANKA’S one-day tour here has been thrown into doubt at the 11th hour following a blanket refusal by their players to sign contract offers.

The Sri Lankans are due to arrive in the UK on Wednesday for a twin three-match series in Twenty20 and one-day international cricket, but now face a stand-off with their employers.

Thirty-eight players put their names to correspondence resisting the new grading system for contracts proposed by Sri Lanka Cricket.

It comes following a similar response from a group of two dozen who rejected the proposed framework for new annual central contracts, citing a lack of transparency and concerns senior players were not being adequately compensated.

Since their 2019-20 contracts expired eight months ago, Sri Lanka’s players have operated under a succession of temporary tour deals.

The timing of this stand-off has certainly delivered maximum embarrassment to SLC and could lead to a delayed departure from Colombo ahead of the first of six scheduled internationals — a T20 match in Cardiff on June 23 — if things are not resolved swiftly.

Meanwhile, the ICC have stepped up their contingency plans for the Twenty20 World Cup by approaching Oman as a potential fourth venue hub.

Although official confirmation that the tournament will be moved from India to the UAE is not expected until later this month, the world governing body is preparing for the switch and has turned to Oman amid concerns that the pitches in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah will deteriorate due to overuse.

That is due to the Indian Premier League being concluded in the Emirates in the weeks leading up to the tournament’s October 18 start date.

Hosting the week-long preliminary stage — featuring Test nations Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Ireland plus associate countries such as Scotland — in Muscat would allow for some respite and provide time for groundsmen to prepare the best possible surfaces for the group games onwards.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India are resigned to losing the 16-team event due to Covid on the subcontinent but will remain as the official home nation and therefore retain lucrative staging rights.

The ICC hierarchy are currently quarantining in Greece for 10 days ahead of the World Test Championship in Southampton from June 18 as the UAE remains on the UK’s red list for international travel.