Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi insists the IPL would not be to blame if Sri Lanka pull out of their proposed tour of England.
League hoping to sign up England players
Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi insists the IPL would not be to blame if Sri Lanka pull out of their proposed tour of England next summer.
Sri Lanka are scheduled to play two Tests and three one-day internationals, which are set to precede next summer's Ashes series, but may stay away because star players like Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara are contracted to the IPL.
But Modi denied any suggestion the IPL was to blame for the clash of dates early next summer. Sri Lanka have been lined up to tour in place of a scheduled tour by Zimbabwe.
Speaking at the Global Sport Summit in London, Modi said: "The ICC's tours programme is fixed seven years in advance. Everybody commits to that and players commit to their countries on that basis.
"There are gaps in the scheduling. Based on those gaps players and countries make other programmes to fill them. The Indian Premier League took into account the ICC's fixed programme and signed players on three-year contracts.
"The Sri Lanka board gave their players a no-objection certificate for three years to play in the Indian Premier League.
"It is always portrayed that the Indian Premier League is stopping the Test matches being played. There was never a scheduled Test in the first place.
"The Sri Lankan tour would breach the contract with the Indian Premier League."
Critics argue that Twenty20 cricket, and the huge money on offer, is threatening the future of Test-match cricket.
But Modi insisted both forms of the game can co-exist.
"Test cricket is here to stay. It has its own hard core following and we will continue to see that go forward," said Modi.
England players
Discussions are still in progress on the issue of England players participating in next season's IPL but Modi confirmed they depend on the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) agreeing to a quid pro quo arrangement on player release.
He said: "We would love to have the English players play for the IPL. We have the top 100 players in the world in the IPL and they are the only players missing.
"The ECB has approached the BCCI and the IPL with the objective of saying they are ready to provide non-objection certificates to the English players to play in the IPL.
"But there is a big catch to it.
"The ECB are set to launch the English Premier League and the quid pro quo is that if the ECB was to release their players, then the IPL must release a minimum of 20 players for the English Premier League.
"It has to go to a governing council and the BCCI board for approval. In the absence of that approval we will continue the way we are.
"I hope the English players can participate but I cannot guarantee that."
