Its Final, No Indian in Sri Lankan Premier League: BCCI

After opposing the Decision Review System (DRS) which all the cricketing nations have embraced, the cash rich Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has once again gone its own way by refusing to grant Indian Cricketers from participating in the Sri Lankan Premier League (SLPL).

Despite the T20 tournament getting approval from all the cricket boards, BCCI has classified the tournament a ‘private tournament’ because of the involvement of a Singapore based private firm believed to be having link to the ousted IPL czar Lalit Modi.

The irony however lays in the fact that, BCCI which is refusing to send its cricketers for the Island Nation League, calling the tournament a ‘private tournament’ will however allow the SLPL champions to participate in the Champions League co-owned by BCCI along with cricket board of South Africa and Australia.

BCCI just don’t seems to like the fact that something of IPL stature doesn’t take place anywhere as they have been putting forward several excuses. First there was fear that Lalit Modi has link with the Singapore based firm having the rights to host the tournament. Then came the ‘private tournament’ excuse. The last straw was putting up an argument that the tournament being organized by private entity could lead to complications should disputes arise over payments to the players.

The BCCI refused to budge on its stance despite the SLC offering bank guarantees to safeguard the Indian players’ contracts, In order to assuage the Indian board, SLC were willing to back the Indian players’ contracts so that their financial interests were protected, but that was not enough to satisfy the BCCI, espncricinfo further reported.

“It is their decision and we cannot force them to change their position,” Sri Lanka sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage told DNA newspaper. “We knew that India was not going to change its stand. That was the reason why we did not go to India. We made an attempt to convince them but the BCCI told us that it cannot reverse its stand. They seem to have some apprehensions over the tournament,” the sports minister said.

The absence of Indian player in the SLPL will no doubt have an impact in the television revenue with Broadcasters still to be finalized. But the buzz that the tournamentmight even get cancelled did no go down well with the Sri lankan Cricket Board. They reiterate saying SLPL will go ahead with available foreign players.