Sri Lanka Cricket Tuesday said it would hold talks with its Indian counterparts in a bid to reverse a ban on a dozen players participating in the island’s inaugural Twenty20 competition.
Sri Lanka Cricket Chairman D. S. de Silva and Secretary Nishantha Ranatunga will travel to India Wednesday, SLC said in a statement. They will have “discussions with the Indian Board on the participation of Indian players,” the statement said.
The move comes after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday blocked Indian players from taking part in the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) to be staged in Colombo from July 19 to August 4.
A dozen Indian players, including fast bowlers Praveen Kumar and Munaf Patel had sought permission to play after BCCI had earlier cleared the event.
The BCCI’s U-turn came after media reports that the SLPL was being organised by Singapore-based Somerset Entertainment Ventures, which is reported to be linked to Lalit Modi, the sacked former boss of the Indian Premier League.
Ranatunga told reporters on Monday that the event will go ahead as planned, and reiterated that SLC had full control over the event, which is marketed by Somerset.
De Silva, who is currently following the Sri Lankan tour of England, will fly from London to join Ranatunga for talks.
Sri Lanka’s sports minister Mahindanda Aluthgamage was optimistic the issue would be resolved amicably.
“We have good rapport with the Indian Board and I am sure the issue will be sorted out amicably. The first edition of this tournament will go ahead as scheduled,” the minister told the local Daily Mirror newspaper on Tuesday.
He said Modi, who lives in London, was not involved with the event.
Modi faces criminal charges, including false accounting, and accusations by the BCCI that more than $106 million was misappropriated during his three-year tenure as IPL chairman.
