Sri Lankan Cricketers are Doubtful for IPL-6!

In a desperate move to ban Sri Lankan cricketers from Indian Premier League (IPL), Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has written a letter to the Prime Minister demanding that the IPL matches with Sri Lankan players and officials should not be played in Chennai. The demand follows rising political tensions in the state over the treatment of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Jayalalithaa writes, “You are aware that the civil strife in Sri Lanka is a lamentable saga of an ethnic pogrom launched by the Sri Lankan Government, using Sri Lankan Army against Tamils, which resulted in the commission of genocide against a defenceless civilian Tamil population and the decimation of thousands of innocent women and children…….. These painful events of genocide of innocent Sri Lankan Tamils have had a deep impact amongst the people of Tamil Nadu, who have been severely shocked, pained and angered by these barbaric acts.”

“In such a hostile and tense environment, we apprehend that the participation of Sri Lankan players in the IPL tournament, with many games to be played in Chennai, will aggravate an already surcharged atmosphere and further offend the sentiments of the people,” the letter says.

Earlier this month the DMK, the main opposition party in Tamil Nadu and a key ally of UPA-II, asked its party-ministers to resign from coalition government addressing their concerns about the alleged atrocities towards Tamils in Sri Lanka.

It is to be mentioned that, though IPL has been very successful from the very beginning, it shifted its venue to South Africa  in 2009 for security reasons in the wake of country’s general election. And, Pakistani players have been excluded from the IPL since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

If the Sri Lankan cricketers are banned from IPL– Chennai Super Kings, who play all their eight home matches in Chennai, will be affected more– though it has only two Sri Lankan players, Nuwan Kulasekara and Akila Dananjaya.

Other Franchises that may be suffered –Mumbai Indians (Lasith Malinga), Delhi Daredevils (Mahela Jayawardene), Pune Warriors (Angelo Mathews), and Sunrisers Hyderabad (Kumar Sangakkara).

In fine, it remains to see, whether cricket crazy Indian fans would able to watch Sri Lankan players or not in the upcoming IPL matches which begin on 3rd April.

Sri Lankan players in IPL:

Nuwan Kulasekara and Akila Dananjaya (Chennai Super Kings)

Mahela Jayawardene and Jeevan Mendis (Delhi Daredevils)

Muttiah Muralitharan and Tillakaratne Dilshan (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Kumar Sangakkara and Thisara Perera (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

Lasith Malinga (Mumbai Indians)

Ajantha Mendis and Angelo Mathews (Pune Warriors)

Kushal Janith Perera (Rajasthan Royals)

Sachithra Senanayake (Kolkata Knight Riders)