Ranatunga calls Lankan players to boycott IPL6

World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga has urged Sri Lankan players to boycott the Indian Premier League (IPL) after they were barred from participating in Chennai.

Bowing to intense political pressure, the IPL Governing Council, withdrew top Sri Lankan players from the Chennai matches of the tournament which begins on April 3 after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said they were unwelcome in view of the prevailing anti-Sinhalese sentiments in the state.

“These are world class players and if the IPL have decided against them playing in one part of the country and degraded the cricketers, I think they should not play anywhere else. They should keep their dignity and stay at home. If they are not welcome in one part of the country why play in other parts,” he was quoted as saying in the Daily Mirror.

Ranatunga slammed the decision of the Sri Lanka Cricket and government to allow players to participate in the IPL as an endorsement of human rights abuse allegations against Sri Lanka.

"What most people seem to ignore is that both Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi are wanting to stop Sri Lankans playing in Tamil Nadu because they accuse Sri Lanka of human rights violations. So playing in other (Indian) states while skipping Tamil Nadu is an endorsement of human rights allegations against our country," Ranatunga told PTI.

"Players must be made aware of this as the world will say that Sri Lankan IPL players have unwittingly endorsed the human rights violation charges," said Ranatunga, who is an opposition member of parliament.

Ranatunga charged both the Tamil Nadu leaders of playing politics with sport.

"They were never concerned about the welfare of north and east (Sri Lankan) Tamils other than at times of elections in Tamil Nadu," he said caustically.

Ranatunga's comments came as the Sri Lankan government on Wednesday allowed the 13 players to appear for IPL franchises subject to skipping matches in Chennai.

Sri Lanka's Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage while asking for a further guarantee on the security of Sri Lankan players from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said othe players would only be permitted to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) consequent to a written declaration from them, according to Daily Mirror.
 
The minister said players who wished to participate in the IPL would have to submit a written declaration to the Sports Ministry stating they were agreeable to play under the prevailing conditions.
 
He also said the BCCI would have to give an assurance of the players’ security.
 
“The BCCI has to first give us a guarantee that they would provide security to our players. The Indian Board has informed us that they would provide the necessary security to the players at all venues except Chennai but we are awaiting a further guarantee,” he said.
 
The decisions were taken consequent to a meeting held with the participation of the Sports Minister, Ministry Secretary, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) President, Secretary and the CEO.
 
Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Cricket has issued the following statement:
 
"Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce that discussions were held with the Minister of Sports this morning regarding the release of the Sri Lanka players for the IPL 2013.
 
Based on a note sent by the Minister of External Affairs regarding the safety of players and reports appearing in the electronic and print media, it was decided that the No Objection Certificates (NOC) issued to the players be restricted to exclude their appearance at any venue in the state of Tamilnadu and also to obtain the Players’ personal opinion on their willingness to participate in the event.
 
At the initial stages, SLC liaised with the BCCI and obtained Safety Guarantees for their participation and conveyed their assurances to each individual player. If and when the players express their intention to play in the IPL 2013, they would be permitted to proceed with the restriction indicated on playing in the State of Tamil Nadu."

Ranatunga said that the IPL Governing Council should have taken all the matches away from Chennai.

"I think what IPL should have done was pulled out all the matches from South India if they are so keen on Sri Lankan players participation. But it's all political gimmick," he said.

Ranatunga reiterated that Lankan cricketers should have been treated with more respect.

“They could have played in all other venues instead of Chennai and that would have been the best decision that would have served all stakeholders. This should have been the decision that was taken instead of giving into threats. A decision such as this would have shown respect to our cricketers instead of the demeaning manner in which they have been treated,” he added.

“I don’t believe that sports and politics should ever get involved. This sets a bad precedent for the sport because tomorrow you will have some other part shouting against another country. They (IPL) have given into the gimmicks of Tamil Nadu politicians, and will have to watch for the repercussions,” he warned.
 

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