To boost the country’s cricket ahead of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have announced a big pay hike for the country’s cricketers. The SLC officially announced on Friday that “fees for all categories of Sri Lanka’s international players have been increased, with immediate effect”. “Accordingly, 41 players will be offered new contracts under six categories, namely, A1, A2, B2, C1, C2, and ‘A’ Team,” SLC announced. Though the announcement has come ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup which will be held in the Caribbean and the United States, the biggest pay hike was for Test cricket with 100% on a merit basis. There will be different payment structures for a Test match ‘won’, ‘drawn’ or ‘lost’, SLC stated.

The match fees for Tests will increase from the original $7500 to a maximum of $15,000 for winning a match. A 66% pay hike will be awarded if the Test ends in a draw, making the payout $12,500 while for a defeat is $10,000 with a 33% increase.

The decision was to sustain the red-ball format of the game with the increasing popularity of white-ball games, especially the T20 format. SLC’s CEO Ashley de Silva said the 100% pay hike for the Test format was a testament to Sri Lanka’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding the legacy of the venerable format of cricket.

Meanwhile, the SLC also has increased the match fee to $4000 (with a 25% pay hike) from the original amount of $3000 for ODI and T20I. Additionally, the SLC also decided to recognise the players who became top-ranked in the ICC Player Rankings.

“Accordingly, a player will be financially rewarded with a one-time payment if they become the ‘Best Batsman, Best Bowler, or Best All-Rounder based on ICC rankings, covering all formats,” SLC declared.

“In the meantime, if a player attains a ranking between 10th and 2nd place in the ICC rankings in the aforesaid categories, such players will also be recognised with a one-time payment,” it added.

In addition to the above daily allowances and per diems for all contracted players have been enhanced to provide better support during the national team’s inbound and outbound engagements, the SLC stated.

The 41 contracted players include Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Wanindu Hasaranga, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya De Silva, Charith Asalanka, Pathum Nissanka, Dasun Shanaka, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, Asitha Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ramesh Mendis, Kamindu Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Dunith Wellalage, Lahiru Kumara, Nishan Madushka, Matheesha Pathirana, Kusal Janith Perera, Vishwa Fernando, Jeffrey Vandersay, Pramod Madushan, Janith Liyanage, Akila Dananjaya, Praveen Jayawickrama, Nuwan Thushara, Sahan Arachchige, Nuwanidu Fernando, Dushan

Hemantha, Lasith Embuldeniya, Binura Fernando, Shevon Daniel, Niroshan Dickwella, Ashen Bandara, Oshada Fernando and Avishka Fernando.