Sri Lanka players sign national contracts, Angelo Mathews misses out

Colombo: Angelo Mathews name was missing from the 18-man list for the National Player Contracts, the Sri Lanka Cricket has announced.

The players signed the contracts without any deviation from the contracts offered previously, which was formulated by Sri Lanka Cricket along with the Technical Advisory Committee.

The national contracts which came into effect on August 1 and will hold for a period of five months until December 31, 2021.

"The players were chosen under four categories and were nominated by the Selection Panel, based on a set of criteria such as Performance, Fitness, Leadership/Seniority, Professionalism/Code of Conduct, and Future/Adaptability," SLC release stated.

"The criteria and the allocation of points to individual players were shared among the players before they signed the contracts."

Notable omissions from the contract list include former captain Angelo Mathews, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella. While Mathews is unavailable for selection, the other three are serving a ban for a breach of COVID-19 protocols.

Players who signed contracts:

Dhananjaya De Silva, Kusal Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne, Suranga Lakmal, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lasith Embuldeniya, Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dushmantha Chameera, Dinesh Chandimal, Lakshan Sandakan, Vishwa Fernando, Oshada Fernando, Ramesh Mendis, Lahiru Kumara, Ashen Bandara, Akila Dananjaya.(UNI)