Boards should take care of players' dues: De Silva

Reacting to reports regarding players' unpaid dues during the inaugural Bangladesh Premier League, former Sri Lanka skipper Aravinda de Silva said it is important that cricketers are looked after well. Another T20 league, Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL), kicks off on Saturday

“It is the responsibility of the national boards to ensure players’ dues are cleared on time. They should take guarantee from the franchises before the tournament kicks off. This will help solve such issues,” said De Silva, who was in the city during the unveiling of Mahindra as the title sponsor of SLPL, yesterday. De Silva is deputy chairman of Ideal Motors that looks after the Indian car makers’ distribution in Sri Lanka.

Aravinda De Silva in city yesterday. Pic/Shadab Khan

“I hope it doesn’t happen in SLPL,” he chuckled. The Indian auto giant is planning to stay associated with the T20 tournament for a “longer term”.

Indian cricketers have given SLPL a miss and De Silva agreed that it’s important to give international cricket priority.

“India has New Zealand coming over (for two Tests and as many T20Is), so their priority is international cricket. It would have been the same for Sri Lankan cricketers too.

“There are many international stars involved… it doesn’t matter whether they are Indian, Australian or West Indian. Sri Lankan youngsters have a great opportunity to rub shoulders with some of these stars,” said the former star batsman.u00a0

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