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It needed a lacklustre performance by the Sri Lanka cricketers in Australia to get the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) thinking right.

For far too long the BCCSL had been mollycoddling our cricketers with handsome wages which has softened them up so much that they have lost the incentive to work hard and perform.

The BCCSL we understand is seriously considering taking drastic measures to curtail players' wages by as much as 30 percent.

Incentives are to be given only for good performances and winning matches and tournaments in future.

The matter is to come up before the next BCCSL Executive Committee meeting.

This move comes in the aftermath of the Australian tour and the national teams' performances on two previous tournaments in Dhaka and Sharjah. In all three tournaments, Sri Lanka have fared disastrously and failed to make it to the finals.

Players were put on contract by the BCCSL two years ago and paid handsome monthly salaries exceeding Rs. 100,000. Some of the senior players earned three times more than the figure.

All that was done in good faith because it was the players who on their excellent performance in winning the World Cup three years ago, had brought in the revenue.

However, in recent times, there has been a marked decline in the performances and with the defence of the World Cup less than three months away the BCCSL are a worried lot.

The bigwigs of the BCCSL we understand held a pow wow recently on their return from Australia, and decided that unless stringent measures are taken, defence of the World Cup would become a disaster.

They feel the players had got their priorities all mixed up and need a good shake up.