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IPL crisis: Govt. seeks security assurance from India
View(s):Minister says players won’t be allowed to take part unless such a guarantee is given by New Delhi
By S.R. Pathiravithana and Damith Wickremasekara
The Government will not permit Sri Lankan players to take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament which begins on April 3 unless the Indian Government gives an assurance about the security of the cricketers, Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said yesterday.
He said the Government through the External Affairs Ministry had told the Indian government about the need to assure security for the players.
“We have had no response so far. We will not allow any players to take part in the IPL even though they have signed up contracts. We need a full assurance of their security,” the minister said.
Earlier the Government said that if the players were willing they would be allowed to take part in the IPL. The minister said though some of the states in which the tournament was due to be held were considered safe, the Sri Lankan Government was expecting an assurance from the Indian Government.
Meanwhile, the Sunday Times learns that some of the players had given their consent to take part in the tournament of their own free will. Cricket analysts said it seemed there were wheels within wheels in the Tamil Nadu standoff against the Sri Lankan players.
They said that for instance, the Sunrisers Hyderabad team, which would be playing under former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, was owned by Kalanidhi Maran, the grandson of Tamil Nadu’s anti-Sri Lanka campaigner and Dravida Munnetra Kazhakam leader M. Karunanidhi. Kalanidhi Maran is the Chairman and Managing Director of the Sun Network. Besides Sangakkara, Lankan allrounder Thisara Perera is also part of the team.
According to Sri Lanka Cricket Secretary Nishantha Ranatunga, the SLC has no objection to the Lankan players taking part in the IPL.
“The IPL is an ICC-recognised tournament and several Lankan players have been given contracts to play in this tournament.
“Once we learned about the crisis situation we got a directive from the Government of Sri Lanka that the players should refrain from taking part in the matches which are to be played in Tamil Nadu. Initially, Sri Lanka’s Deputy High Commission office in Chennai had advised the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry against letting the Lankan players take part in matches in Tamil Nadu. We passed the information on to the players and it is up to each player to ascertain if he is going to take part in the tournament or just stay away from Tamil Nadu,” Mr. Ranatunga said.
Last week, the SLC had written to the players taking part in the IPL saying it had no objection, but advised the players that if they were to proceed they would have to do so at their own risk. The SLC also asked the players for their consent in taking part in the IPL.
However at the pre-match news conference at Pallekelle yesterday, the Lankan captain Angelo Mathews chose not to answer the question posed to him about their visit to India for the IPL.
An SLC spokesman said the cricketers concerned had responded by stating that they would be taking part in the tournament.
The Lankan players taking part in the IPL are:
Kumar Sangakkara (as captain) and Tisara Perera (The Sunrise Hyderabad),
Akila Dananjaya and Nuwan Kulasekara (Chennai Super Kings),
Mahela Jayawardene (as captain) and Jeevan Mendis (Delhi Daredevils),
Sachithra Senanayake (Kolkata Knight Riders),
Lasith Malinga (Mumbai Indians),
Angelo Mathews (as captain) and Ajantha Mendis (Pune Warriors India),
Kusal Janith Perera (Rajasthan Royals),
Muttiah Muralitharan and Tillakaratne Dilshan (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
According to the status quo, the IPL 2013 matches in Chennai will not feature any Sri Lankan cricketers or match officials, following a decision by the league’s governing council on Tuesday.
An IPL official communiqué said, “The security of all involved in the IPL, whether players, spectators or those working in the stadiums, is of paramount importance to the BCCI. The governing council decided that Sri Lankan players will not participate in the IPL 2013 league matches in Chennai and will advise the nine franchises accordingly.”
It is not yet clear whether Chennai Super Kings will decide to withdraw its Sri Lankan players for the season but if so, the players will be compensated with their contract fees for the entire season.It is understood that the CSK administration has written to both Nuwan Kulasekera and Akila Dhananjaya and advised them not to proceed with their IPL plans until further notice.
Nuwan Kulasekera was initially bought by CSK for US$ 100,000 in 2011 and the team retained him since for undisclosed amounts. Akila Dananjaya was bought for US$ 20,000 for this season.
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