SLC President chastises sports minister's remarks over IPL participation

The President of the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), Mr. Thilanga Sumathipala, has come out with some harsh words for the country’s sports minister Dayasiri Jayasekara. Recently, Jayasekara had criticized the national players for not showing correct intent while representing the country. He opined that the players are getting carried away by the cash rich leagues like the IPL and hence do not give their hundred per cent when it comes to the national side games.

The SLC president has strongly condemned any such allegations and rebuked the so called remarks made by the sports minister. He noted that the board allows the players to participate in the T20 leagues as it makes them better players. He called it very unfortunate that there is such misconception among the masses.

“For a player to play in a foreign league they must first receive an NOC (no objection certificate) from SLC, so it’s clear that the board must give approval. If the national team is playing during that time then the player is expected to return, like Angelo Mathews did recently before the Champions Trophy,” quoted Sumathipala as per the quotes in ft.lk.

“You can’t say that tournaments such as the IPL are a bad thing, and SLC actually appreciates them because the game is played at a very high standard; to even get picked for those teams you have to be playing at a certain level. Unfortunately, there is an opinion out there among the public that players who play in the IPL are not as committed to the national team, that is wrong,” he added.

Mathews clears the air

Earlier, the sports minister had indirectly aimed at Angelo Mathews for his fitness during the Champions Trophy. Mathews, however, later conceded that he had a word with Jayasekara who refused to have made any such remarks. Anyway Mathews cleared the air saying that he did not bowl in the Champions Trophy since he had picked up the injury during the warm up games. This had nothing to do with his participation in the IPL a month ago.

“The Minister spoke to me over the phone and assured me that he didn’t make such a statement. It is a huge honour to play for the country and we give 200% for the national team. I didn’t bowl for the team during the Champions Trophy because the team management, fitness coach and medical committee said that it would be risky to do so. It was not in the IPL that I got injured; it was in a warm-up match against Australia. In fact during the IPL I left 14 days early to train with the team ahead of the Champions Trophy,” conceded Mathews.

On restarting SLPL

On similar lines, the SLC President noted that the board is keen on reframing the Sri Lanka Premier League, a T20 league of their own. SLPL had earlier been implemented but had to be scrapped down due to lackluster seasons. “The main issue with T20 leagues is that once all the costs are accounted for it’s not hugely profitable. A Sri Lanka Premier League however is definitely in the pipeline and we are planning on launching it next year. It will definitely also be in the T20 format,” conceded Sumathipala.