Lack of Indian players won’t damage SLPL popularity: Aravinda de Silva – Cricket News Update
Sri Lankan batting legend http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pinnaduwage-Aravinda-de-Silva-c82298 has stated that with the varied amount of international cricketers involved in the upcoming Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL), the absence of Indian players in the tournament is hardly likely to dent the popularity
of the T20 competition.
"I think there are a lot of international stars involved in it. Whether they are Indian, Australian or West Indian, it really doesn't matter as long as they are the part of the tournament," said de Silva.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) rejected Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) appeal to allow its players to participate in the tournament for the second time in a row. The inaugural edition of the SLPL was scheduled to be held last year, before organisers
decided to postpone the event to 2012 owing to the unavailability of Indian players. This time, however, the inaugural edition of the SLPL will be kicking off regardless, sans players from India.
"They (Sri Lanka Cricket) did approach us, but we may not be in a position to send our players," an official from the BCCI had confirmed earlier this year. The reason behind the board’s decision is believed to be the national team’s hectic schedule – they
recently wrapped up a limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka, and will be hosting http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World Twenty20 in September this year.
However, SLC secretary http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Nishantha-Ranatunga-c79713 confirmed that the board planned to “go ahead with the tournament, with or without Indian players”.
The SLPL, based on a franchise system similar to the hugely successful Indian Premier League and the fledgling http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 Premier League, is scheduled to be held from August 11 to 31, prior to the World T20. It features 7 franchises, with 112 local players,
and 56 overseas players set to participate.
The tournament will be featuring Lankan stars such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 and
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013.
The competition features 18 Australian players (such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 (Richard
Levi, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JE-Taylor-c1682).
Tags: