Minister meets SLC officials to resolve tour crisis

Chris Dhambarage

The Minister of Sports and Recreation Gamini Lokuge in a desperate attempt to save Sri Lanka’s proposed tour to England in 2009 had a discussion yesterday with the officials of the Interim Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the players who have signed to play in next year’s Indian Premier League.

The second session of the high profile Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament 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.

Skipper Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Dilhara Fernando, Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga are among those who have signed lucrative three year deals with the IPL franchises.

The SLC have initially granted permission for the players to participate in the IPL League for a period of one year. The six week tournament will start on April 10 and will clash with the first Test match between England and Sri Lanka which is scheduled for May 8.

The SLC had earlier 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 individual players who gain the benefits while Sri Lanka Cricket gets no financial benefit whatsoever.

However the Minister of Sports Gamini Lokuge is confident that the issue could be sorted out in a favourable manner for both parties and has decided to meet the SLC officials and the players together on Friday for a settlement.

With the ICC Twenty20 World Cup scheduled for June 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.

Earlier Sri Lanka accepted an invitation to tour England and play two Tests and three one day internationals after the ECB severed sporting relations with Zimbabwe because of the political unrest in the country. As a result the ECB moved quickly to fill the void for two Test matches and three one day internationals during April and May 2009.