Lasith Malinga facing ban over contract controversy – Cricket News Update
The http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SL-Malinga-c2540, has invited controversy by refusing to sign an official contract with Sri Lankan Cricket Board.
The SLC recently announced to offer contracts to top players including Malinga, who turned down the offer, citing low payments as the major reason. His decision could bring him a temporary ban from the government as his refusal has spurred the Sri Lankan
sports ministry to take stringent measure against players, with any national sports body, who refuse to represent the country at any given time.
The Lankan government is considering the option to bring adjustments in the sports law to allow the federation to ban players as informed by Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage.
"We are having issues mostly in cricket and rugby where national team players often refuse to represent the country when the national team has a scheduled tour and at times opt to play for some other event. So we are now looking at bringing in amendments
to the sports law to allow sporting bodies to temporarily ban such players," he said.
The minister told the Sunday Times newspaper that the contract refusal by Malinga has forced the government for this policy shift.
“This is a trend that we must nip in the bud. I find fault with the administrators for not getting tough on the players,” the minister told.
Signing the SLC contract would ensure that any player could face a temporary ban if he prefers to play in other lucrative leagues over his national duty to represent his country in case of a schedule clash between the two events.
Malinga had also been involved in another controversy during the fourth season of the Indian Premiere League in 2011. The pacer announced his abrupt retirement from Test cricket when he was asked to report to the national camp during his stint with the Indian
Premier League franchise. The decision surprised many cricket experts, questioning the loyalties of national players who are increasingly attracted towards the money rich leagues.
Once the richest sports body in the country, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) also had to face embarrassment over the financial mismanagement, as they were unable to honour contract payments from the previous contract period. Just recently http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 named Malinga as
the ambassador of ICC World T20 tournament that is scheduled to be held in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 in the month of September this year.
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