Sri Lankan Cricket allows players to stay in IPL longer
The Sri Lankan cricket authorities have finally decided to allow the Lankan players to wind up their current commitments and join their national squad by the 19th of May for a series against England, starting from the 26th of May.
The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has taken this decision after a lengthy discussion with the IPL authorities.
Seven Sri Lankan players are currently participating in the Indian Premier League's (IPL) on-going season, including notable players such as, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Suraj Randiv and Lasith Malinga.
Among these players, Sangakkara is leading the Deccan Chargers while Jayawardene is captaining the Kochi Tuskers Kerela.
As per the Future Tour Programs of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Sri Lanka is scheduled to tour England for a bilateral series in the month of May.
A week ago, the SLC issued notes to all the Lankan players to ensure their presence in the training camp by the 5th of May.
The players, who were preoccupied with the tournament, were reluctant to return so soon. The pacer, Malinga, even refused bluntly.
Team Sri Lanka will leave for England on the 11th of May and will play the first, warm-up match on the 14th.
The SLC has given somewhat concession to the seven players, allowing them to reach England a week later. The series will open with a Test match on the 26th of May.
Some analysts suggest that it will be hard for the Lankan players to meet this deadline too as the IPL tournament is to last till the 28th of May.
The players have received hefty sums in remunerations for playing the tournament, they can not pull off in the midst.
Since the inception of the IPL, there has been a row between country and club in most of the cricketing nations. At one side, there are lucrative contracts of IPL and at other side, there is the national bond. Thus players hang between the two options.
Recently, Carribean legend, Chris Gayle, also joined the IPL against the consent of his national cricket board.
Though http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 has conceded a concession to its players, the sports minister, Mahindananda Aluthgamage has warned them for the future.
Mahindananda said that the players will have to prefer the national commitment to IPL in the future and IPL permission will only be granted on the condition that it should not affect the national side.
As the newly appointed captain, Dilshan, will not be with the squad initially, according to analysts, this is likely to affect team’s performance.
Instead of the practice nets, the skipper will meet his player on the field, the IPL fatigue will also be a concern for all the returning players.
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