The Indian Cricket League, which orchestrated a mass exodus from Bangladesh last week, got another shot in the arm on Friday as Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) decided to lift the domestic ban on five players who are part of the ICL.

Marvan Atapattu, Upul Chandana, Avishka Gunawardene, Russell Arnold and Saman Jayantha will now be allowed to take part in Sri Lanka’s domestic cricket season, including the island’s much-valued provincial league. A decision on whether or not they will be considered for the national team, though, will be taken in the coming couple of weeks.

SLC CEO and former Test captain Duleep Mendis told The Indian Express from Colombo that “these players had put in an application requesting that they be allowed to participate in the premier league club tournament. The interim committee considered their appeal and agreed to release them.”

The interim committee meeting was held last Tuesday in the Sri Lankan capital where SLC chief Arjuna Ranatunga gave his approval. It was before Ranatunga had taken over the administration of SLC last year that the previous interim committee, headed by Jayantha Dharmadasa, had taken the decision to ban these cricketers.

Mendis further said that the committee decided to go ahead and allow these players in the domestic circuit because “their expertise and knowledge could benefit other younger players at the club level.” Atapattu has led Sri Lanka in Tests and one-dayers while Chandana and Arnold have been experienced campaigners in the past.

BCCI quiet

The move is a major setback for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi in particular, who has been against the idea of ICL players being allowed in domestic circuits in all the ICC-affiliated nations. “We are yet to speak to the Sri Lankan board on the issue,” BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said.

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