Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) last week dispatched Invitation to Tender (ITT) documents to all potential bidders for the national team’s media rights for the three years starting April 1, 2020, but left the bid submission date open until India’s limited-over tour to Sri Lanka is finalised.
The Indian team is due to arrive in the island for six limited-over matches (3 ODIs and 3 T20Is) on June 21 this year. But the tour is unlikely to be played on schedule owing to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
Negotiations are on with the Indian cricket board to shift the tour to a later date, SLC said. Tours by Indian cricketers are lucrative because of the huge following the game attracts in India.
The Sri Lankan board desperately wants the tour to go ahead to fill their coffers with revenue from media rights.
SLC will bankrupt if India doesn’t tour once every two years at least.