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BCCI refuses Indian players in Sri Lankan Premier league. posted under: Sri Lanka | All news |
 The Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has dealt yet another blow to the Sri Lankan Premier
League by rejecting the Sri Lanka Cricket board’s (SLC) request to allow Indian
players to participate in Sri Lanka’s version of premier T20 cricket. The SLPL, which
was tentatively scheduled to be held in August this year, now hangs uneasily..
Indian cricketers are hugely popular in Sri Lanka and other parts of the world and
Indian fans make up the bulk of cricket viewing public globally. Not to forget the
fact that Indian brands and advertisers invest large amounts of monies in any
tournaments that involves India and Indian cricketers. With the BCCI’s refusal, the
SLPL could be delayed until both the boards work things out.
According to a prominent newspaper’s website, the BCCI reasoned that the Indian
cricket team has a packed cricketing calendar and an additional tournament to lead to
fatigue and stress, perhaps injuries even.
A BCCI official reportedly said, “They (SLC) did approach us, but we may not be in a
position to send our players.” The SLC apparently tried negotiating with the BCCI by
asking for players who don’t make it to the national side (read: second rung
players), but the BCCI apparently wasn’t “convinced.” The SLC though has left no
stone unturned to convince their Indian counterparts.
Back in April, they fired Arjuna Ranatunga from the position of Head of SLC because
he opposed the IPL and had requested Sri Lankan players to end their IPL stint early,
to accommodate a test series in England. The request was opposed by Sri Lankan
players and the board unanimously and the BCCI was pleased with the fact that the IPL
wouldn’t have any ‘player-drain’ whatsoever. However, this hasn’t translated to the
BCCI warming up to the SLPL.
This could also mean that the BCCI has the interests of its own IPL uppermost in mind
and wouldn’t want any other league springing up to rival it. While the Bangladesh
premier league was played in February 2012, it hardly garnered much of media
attention and the BCCI may not be seeing it as a threat as yet. The SLC though has
more clout in world cricket and cordial relations with most boards. The SLPL could be
competition.
As mentioned, the tournament scheduled for August may be delayed further, but the SLC
isn’t keen on giving any such indications. A SLC board official said, “BCCI is not
convinced. But we are going ahead with the league this time.”
The BCCI president N Srinivasan, who is battling his own set of
problems, was unavailable for comment. |
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