Owners of the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) franchise Uva Next still owe half a million US dollars (Rs. 65 million) to Sri Lanka Cricket for sending their team to the Champions League tournament in South Africa.

Uva Next team led by Thilina Kandamby clinched the inaugural edition of the SLPL and qualified for the Champions League but SLC had to intervene and ensure the passage of the team for the tournament as the franchise owners initially backed out of the obligation saying they did not have the required finances to send the team to South Africa.

“We had to make sure that the team from Sri Lanka took part in this tournament, so we advanced them the required finances” SLC President Upali Dharmadas .told “Daily Mirror” in October .

SLC Treasurer Nuski Mohamed said that the Champions League organisers would pay SLC for sending the team, and SLC would deduct the advanced sum from that before settling the dues of the franchise.

“SLC is actually not spending any of its funds. We can recover the spent amount as soon as we receive this money from Champions League organisers” Mohamed said and was quoted in our article that was published on October 18 this year.

However the situation now is different as latest evidence suggests that SLC had actually “lent” the money to the Uva Next owners rather than providing an “advance” and it is the Uva Next franchise owners who have to pay them back rather than SLC deducting it out of the dues from Champions League ogranisers.

This information has surfaced when SLC Secretary Nishantha Ranatunga asked the SLC Chief Executive Ajit Jayasekara at an SLC Exco meeting earlier this month if the Uva Next franchise owners “have been made to understand that they have to pay back SLC the monies lent to them”.

Jayasekara replied the Secretary in the affirmative and explained that SLC was due to receive USD 500,000 which when taxes are deducted will stand at US$ 447,200.

Jayasekara had further explained that this was the money used to fund the Uva Next team to play at the Champions League and the Uva Next franchise has been clearly intimated that all monies have to be paid back with interest as they have consented to do according the signed agreement.

Jayasekara also informed the SLC ExCo that Uva Next co-owner Amarjeet Singh has signed the agreement and that SLC lawyer Harsha Amarasekara has informed that it was legally binding.

It was no secret that the Uva Next franchise was plagued with financial troubles from the start of the SLPL and things came to a head on August 20 during the SLPL tournament when the team’s foreign players refused to take field against Ruhuna Royals without receiving their due payments which resulted in a 15-minute delay in the toss. It later transpired that the players had finally agreed to play after assurances were made.

Despite clinching the title in the SLPL, Uva players received no reward or bonus from the franchise owners and were shocked to be informed that the franchise was in no financial position to send the players for the Champions League.

Players who were keen to make it to the Champions League had agreed to play but even two weeks before the tournament was to start, the players were not certain if they were actually taking part in the tournament.

Frustrated players had then made representations to senior Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) officials at a special meeting who said they are willing to take over the team and send it for the tournament if the franchise had no money.
Following discussions, the Uva Next franchise claimed they could not afford to send the team for the tournament and SLC had to agree to finance the trip on the condition that the dues would be deducted later.(Channaka de Silva)