Thaindian News

New Delhi, April 21 (IANS) The Indian and Sri Lankan cricket boards are in discussions to break the impasse over the Sri Lankan players’ continued participation in the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to the islanders’ upcoming tour of England and are hopeful of finding a solution.

A top official in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) told IANS that it is essentially a matter to be sorted out between Sri Lanka Criket (SLC) and country’s sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage, who insists that the players should be back before May 5 to prepare for the tour of England.

The BCCI official said the Sri Lankan players know that they have committed to the IPL franchises to see through the fourth season, but at the same time they are under pressure to fulfill their country’s international commitments.

Aluthgamage has relented and is in receptive to extending the players’ stay in India beyond May 5, but would not say for how long.

The minister told NDTV that a decision would be taken after discussions with the board officials and the national selectors. Apparently, chief selector and former captain Duleep Mendis is insisting on the players attending a conditioning camp before the English tour, though the Sri Lankan board officials have no quarrels with their Indian counterparts.

“I have received several e-mails from the BCCI and I will meet the selection committee and the SLC officials to discuss the matter. We might extend the May 5 deadline. The players have to leave for England on May 10 and we might consider postponing that too. We don’t want to embarrass the BCCI, we have good relations with India and we want to maintain this. We are trying to work out new dates for the players,” Aluthgamage was quoted as saying by the channel.

Aluthgamage said BCCI was well aware of the Sri Lankan players’ international commitments.

“The ICC’s Future Tours Programme is pre-decided and according to it, Sri Lanka has to tour England from May 10. So, the BCCI cannot say that it was unaware about it. We are calling our players just five days before the tour,” he said.

It is being speculated that SLC’s climbdown came after the BCCI gave them a deadline to sort out the issue and even threatened to withhold the players’ fee as well as the 10 percent cut from their fees the SLC is entitled to from the franchises.

Eleven Sri Lankan players, including Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, captains of Deccan Chargers and Kochi Tuskers Kerala, are playing in the cash-rich IPL.

The franchises were given to understand that the players would be available till May 21 and this was confirmed by the legendary Muttiah Muralitharan.

Aluthgamage said the selectors are the ones who want the players to assemble by May 5 for the tour starting May 10 as they want them to get acclimatised to English conditions.

“The selectors feel the team has been playing only Twenty20 and one-day cricket for a while now. So, it needs to adapt to the English conditions, besides there is a new captain at the helm which is why the team needs the extra time for preparations,” Aluthgamage said.

BCCI vice president Rajiv Shukla said SLC’s decision to recall the players was not appropriate.

“According to us, the Sri Lankan players are here to stay till May 21 as they have promised and the franchises are also under the same impression. But now they want to go early and it is not appropriate,” Shukla told the media.