BCCI adamant Indians will not play in Lanka T20 league

Lalit Modi

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – The inaugural Sri Lanka  Premier League will go ahead next month without the Indian  cricketers after talks failed with the Indian board (BCCI), Sri  Lankan sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage told Reuters yesterday.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) denied  permission to its players because it suspects the involvement of  Lalit Modi, the former Indian Premier League commissioner who  was sacked on financial irregularity charges, in the IPL-style  tournament, Aluthgamage said.

Keiron Pollard
Lalit Modi

“Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) officials requested BCCI to change  their stand but they refused,” Aluthgamage said by phone.
“They think Lalit Modi is involved in this tournament. I  have checked company profile and everything… and he’s not  involved.”
An SLC delegation was expected to travel to India this week  to try and convince BCCI officials to allow Praveen Kumar, Munaf  Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin and nine other Indian players to  participate in the tournament.

“There is no use going to India to meet them. They said they  don’t want to change the decision. We are doing the tournament  and there is no doubt about that,” the minister said.

BCCI president Shashank Manohar and secretary N Srinivasan  were not available for comment.
On Sunday, Manohar said the players had been denied  permission because the league was being organised by a “private  party”.
“The Board’s policy is not to allow players to take part in  private party-organised tournaments,” Manohar told the Press  Trust of India news agency.

Kieron Pollard, Shahid Afridi and Daniel Vettori are among  the foreign recruits of the July 19-Aug 4 Twenty20 tournament.