Sri Lanka Cricket which did not take the Provincial 4-day tournament seriously and cancelled it for this year, is seriously considering in going ahead with the T-20 version of it in the guise of the Sri Lanka premier League Tournament.
Last week Sri Lanka Cricket met representatives of Somerset Entertainment Ventures in a bid to revive the tournament which once ran into heavy weather with the unexpected withdrawal of Indian players from availability.
The BCCI withheld its permission on the grounds that Somerset, which owned the commercial rights, would be handling the contracts for international players and that could lead to complications should disputes arise over payments. In order to assure the Indian board, SLC was willing to back the Indian players’ contracts so that their financial interests were protected, but that was not enough to satisfy the BCCI.
There also were suggestions that former IPL chairman Lalit Modihad a hand in the event, but SLC and Somerset have repeatedly denied the allegation, as has Modi. It is learned that the tournament will take place along with other available international stars just prior to the T-20 World Championships which is scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka in September this year.
In the postponed session the teams were to be led by -- Basnahira XI (Western Zone): TM Dilshan, Wayamba XI (North Western Zone): Mahela Jayawardane, Ruhunu XI (Southern Zone): Sanath Jayasuriya, Kandurata XI (Central Zone): Kumar Sangakkara, Uva XI (Uva Zone): Chaminda Vaas, Uthura XI (Nothern Zone): Daniel Vettori, Nehenagira XI (Eastern Zone): Sahid Afridi.
List of International Players who were selected for SLPLT20 League were -- India: Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Manish Pandey, Manoj Tiwary, Paul Valthaty, Ravindra Jadeja, Saurabh Tiwary, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar and Ravichandran Ashwin. Pakistan : Shoaib Akhtar, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq Umar Gul, and Saeed Ajmal. West Indies: Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo. South Africa: Hershal Gibbs. New Zealand: Daniel Vettori. Australia: Saun Tait, David Warner, Shaun Marsh.
However it is very unlikely that the BCCI would release its players to take part even in this year’s tournament.
News Source: Sunday Times Written by S.R. Pathiravithana
