ICC President condemns SLC’s US Dollars 70 million deal with IPL

President of the International Cricket Council (ICC) David Morgan has criticised the US Dollars 70 million ten-year deal between Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the Indian Premier League (IPL) as “quite unacceptable behaviour at a time the SLC has to honour its summer tour of England”.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, the world cricket chief has condemned the lucrative deal between the Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) and IPL chairman Lalit Modi.

The ICC President has said the deal, which, if ratified by the Indian Board - BCCI, would force the abandonment of Sri Lanka’s Test series in England in May next year. Morgan has pointed out that only last month that the world cricket governing body reaffirmed the primacy of Test cricket with the unanimous agreement of all full members.

Sri Lanka’s has already undertaken to tour England from April 21 to May 30 but the summer tour will overlap with IPL which is scheduled from April 10-May 25. Since the series clashes with the latter stages of the IPL’s second season, and several Lankan IPL contracted players such as skipper Mahela Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralitharan and vice captain Kumar Sangakkara will have problems in honouring their lucrative contracts with the Indian sides in the IPL.

However, the Minister of Sports and Public Recreation Gamini Lokuge has asked the SLC to release IPL contracted players. With this decision, Sri Lanka will be forced to send a makeshift side for the tour of England.

But the England Cricket Board (ECB) seems to be in the wilderness on the recent developments in the subcontinent.

“We have a signed contract with SLC in which we agree to play two Tests and three ODIs. We have had no other contact from SLC,” an ECB official was quoted as saying. The SLC will send a four-member team of officials to Bangkok this weekend to finalise the Indian Premier League (IPL) deal.

The official discussions will commence on Saturday (18). SLC’s Chief Executive Officer and former Sri Lanka captain Duleep Mendis, Secretary to the Ministry of Sports S. Liyanagama will be part of the delegation that will fly to Mumbai to finalise the deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Last week, Minister Lokuge said that the million dollar deal will lead to the full participation of Sri Lankan players in the IPL and the Twenty20 Champions League for the next decade.

The proposed deal was secured after the Sports Ministry decided to release the IPL contracted Sri Lanka national players from next year’s tour of England.

“More benefits are to be gained by our cricketers and the country by participating in the Indian Premier League matches.

Therefore, we are sending a team of officials to India next week to finalise it,” he was quoted as saying.

Reports said the BCCI has also promised to reschedule the cancelled 2006 tri-nation one-day series featuring Sri Lanka and South Africa to next year.

India has offered to play another tri-nation series in 2010 which will bring in close to US$18 million for Sri Lanka Cricket.

- (D.W.)