SLC in desperate bid to save tour of England

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in a desperate attempt to save their proposed tour of England in April 2009 have requested the players to re consider their decision in playing in the second session of the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament.

The Indian Premier League will clash with Sri Lanka›s tour to England next year and the SLC are still negotiating with the Sri Lanka Cricketers Association for a suitable resolution.

The SLC have informed the players that the IPL is a privately organized domestic tournament and should be mindful that they should not take precedence over national and international commitments.

By permitting the national players to participate in the IPL, it is the individuals who earn a percentage of the players› earnings while Sri Lanka Cricket gets no financial benefit whatsoever.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has stated that the tour cannot be rescheduled and hence if the tour does not take place the loss to Sri Lanka Cricket will be in excess of Rs. 200 million. The money earned from this tour will certainly help the SLC to improve its financial position and will go a long way in assisting the development of the game of cricket in the country.

However in order to accommodate a request from the IPL, Sri Lanka Cricket agreed to cancel a proposed tour by India to Sri Lanka in 2009 at a loss to SLC of US dollars 14 million. C.D.