SL

Picture Credit: Twitter/@OfficialSLC

As India have started their preparations for the upcoming white-ball series against Sri Lanka scheduled to begin on July 13, the home side have not even announced their squad. The ongoing dispute between Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the players regarding the new pay structure has not yet sorted out which has become a major issue now.

The board had notably given a deadline to players - who were on England tour - to sign the tour contract to be eligible for selection for the upcoming series against India. As the deadline ended at 8PM on Tuesday, nearly 10 players (who had travelled to England) signed the tour contract for India series. All of them are likely to be included in ODI and T20I squads now.

Signing tour contract is mandatory to be eligible for selection

While the names of the players have not yet been revealed, it comes as a major sigh of relief for Sri Lankan fans who were worrying that a second-string squad will have to be announced. However, the issue has not been fully resolved as some players refused to sign the tour contracts as they want to sign central contracts instead.

However, SLC have confirmed that they will only be offering tour contracts at the moment. "Anyone failing to sign tour contracts would be excluded from selection for the home series against India, starting on July 13," SLC Chief Shammi Silva told NewsWire on Tuesday. As per reports, the other players have been given time till Wednesday to sign the tour contracts if they wish to be considered for selection.