No Lankan players for IPL6 matches in Chennai

The Indian Premier League Governing Council has agreed that no Sri Lankan players, officials or backroom staff will be involved with IPL 6 action in Chennai, according to the Daily Miror.
 
This comes following a hurried tele-conference among IPL bosses and franchises after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayaram Jayalalitha wrote to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying Lankan sportspersons were not welcome in Chennai during the IPL starting April 3.
 
With several teams, including two-time champions Chennai Super Kings, having top Sri Lankans in their ranks, the IPL bosses were in a quandary after the Jayalalitha letter.

The governing council has decided that no Sri Lankans will feature in matches in Chennai, which will host 10 games in the tournament ending on May 26.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayaram Jayalalitha has written to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stating categorically that the 11 Sri Lankan cricketers in the Indian Premier League will not be allowed to play matches held in Chennai, according to NDTV.

She has said in her letter that with emotions in her state running high over the Sri Lanka issue, it would be unadvisable for the Lankan players, umpires and other officials to visit Tamil Nadu.
"In such a hostile and tense environment, we apprehend that the participation of Sri Lankan players in the IPL tournament, with many games to be played in Chennai, will aggravate an already surcharged atmosphere and further offend the sentiments of the people," the letter says.

The sixth edition of the IPL is scheduled to be held from April 3 and will be played in different locations in the country over 45 days. Ten matches are to be played in Chennai.

Earlier it was repored that Chennai Super Kings were ready to axe Sri Lankan players Nuwan Kulasekera and Akila Dhananjaya for the entire sixth edition of the India Premier League (IPL) staring on April 3.

It is seen as a compromise formula to appease the Tamil Nadu government, who are not in favour of Sri Lankan sportspersons playing in the state following the current political unrest, Times of India reported.

Street protests have taken place in Tamil Nadu to denounce the killings of Tamil civilians in the war against the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka.

The IPL Governing Council is not in a position to ask the franchises to drop their Sri Lankan players for matches to be played in Chennai, which also include two eliminators.

However, two-times champions CSK, on their own, can drop their Lankan players.

Paceman Kulasekara is a vital cog in the CSK wheel, while Dhananjaya is an offspinner who was picked during this year's auction.

But the CSK bosses are ready to 'sacrifice' both the players for the full season so that the IPL matches stay in Chennai.

Eight of the nine IPL franchises have Sri Lankan players in their roster.

Chennai, home to Super Kings, is scheduled to host 10 IPL matches this season.

Their first home match is against Mumbai Indians on April 6 and preparations have already began.

IPL teams had requested the IPL governing council to move matches away from Chennai but this has been ruled out by the Indian cricket board.

"As of now the matches will be held in Chennai. We have no plans to shift them out," Ratnakar Shetty, chief administrative officer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), told IANS in New Delhi on Sunday.

Meanwhile, BCCI president N Srinivasan hoped that the issue will be sorted out ahead of the tournament. "These are operational matters. I don't want to get into this issue. The IMG (event manager) and the IPL will look at it and decide. The government of Tamil Nadu is capable of handling the law and order situation. I feel these issues will get sorted out," Srinivasan said.

Apart from the CSK duo, other Sri Lankan players featuring in IPL 6 are:

Jeevan Mendis (Delhi Daredevils)

Sachithra Senanayake (Kolkata Knight Riders)

Lasith Malinga (Mumbai Indians)

Ajantha Mendis and Angelo Mathews (Pune Warriors)

Kushal Janith Perera (Rajasthan Royals)

Muttiah Muralitharan and Tillakaratne Dilshan (Royal Challengers)

Thisara Perera (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
 

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