India and Sri Lankan Cricket Boards hope to resolve IPL row

India’s and Sri Lanka’s cricket boards are aiming to resolve the row of participation of Sri Lankan players in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after the Sport Ministry in consultation with the cricket board decided to call back its players from India.

According to reports emanating from the two countries there is a resolution being drafted, this was confirmed by the Chairman of the IPL Commission, Chirayu Amin. He stated that a common ground is being found for the resolutions of all issues with the hope that the two boards would work together for the wider interest of the game in both countries.

The IPL supremo told Indian media that efforts were underway in this regard, and the needful was being done. "The BCCI top brass is in touch with SLC and they will resolve the issue", Amin told the Times of India. "It is an issue between SLC and its players, who are playing in IPL four. We are expecting that the issue will get solved by next week".

The Sport Ministry in Sri Lanka asked the players taking part in the cash rich league to report for training at the start of next month. The training camp is being established to help the team prepare for the tour of England set to start at the end of next month.

The national team is due to depart for England on May 10 where they will play three Tests, five ODIs and one Twenty20. The tour is of great importance for the Islanders, who are keen on reaching the top three in both ODIs and Test match format, additionally the tour is a real challenge for them considering the fact that they have not won a single Test series at the home of cricket.  

The call to bring players home has been made to make the players work on the challenges of playing with the red ball compared to the white ones that are used in limited overs cricket, something that the players have been exposed to regularly in the last few months.

Mendis, who is the Chairman of the selectors, stated that the players needed to concentrate on getting used to the change of playing with white balls rather than red.

Meanwhile, the greatest spin bowler of all time off spinner, Muttiah Muralitharan, who is playing for Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the IPL, has slammed the board's decision. The recently retired champion stated that the decision by the Board defies logic as players needed to play more in the league and guide their respective franchises towards the business end of the tournament.

"I think the board [SLC] has given them permission till May 20", Murali told a TV channel. "I don't know what happened suddenly. The players were told to come on May 5. It is the fault of SLC because they signed the NOC [No Objection certificate] till May 20 so if they change it to May 5 it is wrong. Players will get demoralized, because if they go back on May 5, they play half of the IPL and they are going to miss a lot [of it]”.

He felt that the players would be returning home half hearted and that might backfire for the team as they head out to England for what can be a real gruelling series against a vastly improved team.