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The Tamil Nadu Government has urged the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to advise the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to ensure the IPL organisers do not allow Sri Lankans to participate in any of the matches to be held in the State.
The Chief Minister, J. Jayalalithaa said in a letter to the Prime Minister that Tamil Nadu will allow IPL cricket matches in the State only if the “organisers provide an undertaking that no Sri Lankan players, umpires, officials or support staff would participate in these matches.”
The decision follows in the wake of “popular antipathy and anger in Tamil Nadu against the actions of the Sri Lankan Government” which had used its army to unleash an “ethnic pogrom” and “genocide” against Sri Lankan Tamils during the civil strife, she said.
The Sri Lankan army also continues with its unprovoked attacks on Tamil fishermen, she said.
In such a tense environment in Tamil Nadu which has sparked a wave of agitations protesting Sri Lanka’s actions, the State Government is of the view the that “IPL matches involving Sri Lankan players, umpires and other officials should not be played in Tamil Nadu.”
The Government apprehends such participation by Sri Lankans in the IPL tournament starting from April 3 will aggravate an already surcharged atmosphere, she said.
The IPL announced in a press release on its Web site, “The Governing Council decided that Sri Lankan players will not participate in the Pepsi IPL 2013 League matches in Chennai and will advise the nine franchises accordingly.”
The Council met this afternoon to discuss the issue. The security of all involved in the IPL is of paramount importance, it said.
The IPL league, promoted by the BCCI, the governing body of the sport, has nine teams with over 80 players of which 13 are Sri Lankans, including Kumar Sangakara, the team captain of the newest franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad, which is making its debut. According to the schedule, the teams will play 75 matches, 11 of them in Chennai, up to May 26. The matches will be held in 12 cities across the country. The IPL tournament is an annual event which is in its sixth edition since 2008 when it started.
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