Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) interim committee which is staggering under one huge financial blow they received on Wednesday when they came to know that the bid for the forthcoming 3 test matches against India could only bring them US $ 1.4 million, have committed further financial suicide by opting to offer their local Television rights for the next three years to the state owned Sri Lanka Rupavahini corporation (SLRC) at a rate of at least Rs. 35 million below the figure quoted by top bidder Carlton Sports Network (CSN).
And SLC interim committee sources disclosed that Rupavahini who made an official bid of Rs. 110 million has agreed to amplify their offer to Rs. 130 million, a figure which is still a staggering Rs. 35 million (more than 21%) less than the figure of Rs. 165 million offered by CSN.
Interestingly, all these squabbling over alleged three wrong points in the document provided by CSN had come to a halt last morning when CSN issued SLC a written assurance and agreed to pay the total of Rs. 165 million upfront, but SLC Interim Committee chairman Sidath Wettimuny stated that assurance was too late as they had taken the decision to award the rights to Rupavahini on the previous night.
A financial expert expressed surprise at that excuse, saying it was mind-boggling that SLC could not communicate the development immediately to the interim committee members and taken a decision that was worth Rs. 35 million.
“We sat in the evening and made the decision. There is a limit. They delayed it by a week. The bank guarantee did not come at the deadline we gave them. That’s the bottom line” stated SLC Interim Committee chairman Sidath Wettimuny.
