Sri Lanka relents, allows players to stay in IPL till May 18

Colombo/New Delhi, Apr 21 (PTI) A major standoff
between the powerful Board of Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI) and Sri Lanka Cricket was Thursday averted with the
island nation extending the deadline for its players' return
from the Indiian Premier League (IPL) till May 18, a
compromise which put an end to the uncertainty over their
availability.
Under pressure from the BCCI to extend the original
May 5 deadline, SLC relented after a meeting with country's
Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage and allowed its star
players to participate in cash-rich event for 13 more days.
Sources said according to the revised schedule, the
players will now participate in the IPL till May 18 and leave
from Mumbai for their tour of England after that.
The series against England starts May 14 with a
practice match against Middlesex, followed by another warm-up
game against England Lions on May 19.
The first Test of the three Tests is scheduled to
begin in Cardiff from May 26 which means that those players
staying back for IPL would just have about a week to prepare
for the series.
The indications of a compromise came earlier in the
day when Aluthgamage said that the players might be allowed to
stay beyond the original May 5 deadline.
"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,"
Aluthgamage said.
"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," he added.
Eleven Sri Lankan players, including Kumar Sangakkara
and Mahela Jayawardene who are captaining their respective
franchises, are currently in action in the cash-rich IPL.
Their early return would have had an adverse impact on
their respective teams' combinations as the franchises were
under the impression that the players would be available till
May 21.
There is speculation that Sri Lanka's climbdown came
after the BCCI gave them a deadline to sort out the issue and
even threatened to withhold the 10 per cent cut from the
players' fee which the SLC was due to get after the IPL.
The SLC stands to earn approximately Rs two crore from
the Rs 21 crore that the participating players would pocket
from the event.
The controversy began after the Sri Lankan government
asked the SLC to direct all its cricketers playing in the IPL
to return home by May 5.
It got murkier after the government and the SLC
rejected the BCCI's request to allow its star cricketers to
play in the lucrative Twenty20 tournament till May 15.
Speculation was that the Lankan government's move was
in retaliation to the treatment meted out to Sri Lankan
minister who had accompanied President Mahinda Rajapakse
during the World Cup final in Mumbai on April 2.
The Ministers were reportedly peeved that they were
not allowed sit at the same enclosure and some of them had to
buy their own tickets.
"I know that we had some problems with BCCI because we
made request for more tickets (in the World Cup final in
Mumbai) because a few cabinet ministers had come. They did not
give it.
"But that is a totally different matter. That is about
protocol and the current issue is about cricket. Protocol and
cricket are totally different matters," Aluthgamage clarified.
The Sri Lankan Board's decision to call back its
players by May 5 had created a furore in India as the IPL
franchises put pressure on the BCCI to extend their stay.
The Sri Lankan players were repeatedly asked about
these developments at their routine post and pre-match press
conferences.
Retired spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan had slammed
the SLC for asking the players to return midway through the
IPL, claiming that the No Objection Certificate had permitted
them to play to till May 20.
"I think the board (SLC) has given them permission
till May 20. I don''t know what happened suddenly. The players
were told to come on May 5. It is the fault of SLC because
they signed the NOC till May 20 so if they change it to May 5
it is something wrong," Muralitharan, who quit international
cricket after Sri Lanka's defeat to India in the World Cup
final early this month, said.
"Players will get demoralised because if they go back
on May 5 they play half of the IPL and they are going to miss
a lot. SLC should have informed the players earlier, then the
IPL franchises would understand and everyone would
understand," he added.
Two Sri Lankans -- Sangakkara (Deccan Chargers) and
Jayawardene (Kochi Tuskers Kerela) -- are captaining their IPL
franchises and their premature exit would mean their teams
would have to find new skippers.
Apart from these two, Tillakaratne Dilshan, who has
now been named Sri Lanka's captain, Lasith Malinga, Suraj
Randiv, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Nuwan Pradeep and
Dilhara Fernando are among the other Sri Lankans in action in
the IPL.