The upcoming series between Sri Lanka and India is a welcoming sign for Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) due to their bad financial condition. The bilateral ODI and T20I series are expected to bring in approximately $12 million revenue for the board, as confirmed by the President of Sri Lanka Cricket.
Over the past few years, SLC has been struggling both on and off the field. Poor results, lack of proper management and worrying financial returns have been a sad state of affairs. Therefore, the upcoming series against India would help them quite a bit, especially in money-making.
The major part of the $12 million revenue estimated will come from sponsorships and TV rights deal with Sony Sports, who will be the broadcasters of this series.
Unacademy has been brought in as title sponsor for the ODI Series & CoinDCX will be the main sponsor of the T20I series between the two countries. Dream11 and Skoda also work as co-sponsors in the series. Kent RO has also been signed as ‘back of the jersey’ sponsor for the 3-match T20I series.
SLC President Shammi Silva addressed the media before the commencement of the ODI series and said, “We had initially finalised to host three matches. But after some negotiations with the Indian Cricket Board, we managed to increase the matches to six which will enable us to raise an additional US $6 million in revenue, overall US $12 million in revenues.”
He further added, “SLC will be able to provide a large income to the country with Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa’s vision of building a strong economy through sports. We missed out on several tours as scheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, yet we did not reduce the monthly salaries and allowances of our cricketers. None of their facilities were deducted either. In the face of this situation, the cricketers should give out their best display to the country.”
Currently, the Indian Cricket Team led by opener Shikhar Dhawan is in full preparation mode for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. Under the guidance of Rahul Dravid, who has been brought in as coach for this particular series, the Indian team hopes to make it big and give their fans joy.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka is also struggling after heavy defeats on their tour to England. Thus, they will aim to play some good and fearless cricket, and get back to winning ways at home. The ODI series is scheduled to kick off on July 13, 2021. The series is available for viewing in 4 different languages on the Sony Sports Network. Sony’s streaming channel SonyLiv will stream all the matches online.