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IPL confirms no Sri Lanka players in Chennai

The Chairman of the Indian Premier League has confirmed that no Sri Lankan players will be taking part in cricket matches to be held in Chennai as part of the tournament, earlier today.

The decision comes after a letter from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to the Indian Prime Minster, barring all Sri Lankan players from playing in Chennai, in protest over Sri Lanka's "genocide against a defenceless civilian Tamil population".

IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla said in statement,

“Today, the Honourable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has written to the Prime Minister of India stating that she will not permit the participation of Sri Lankan players or umpires in matches in Chennai during Pepsi IPL 2013.″

“The IPL Governing Council met this afternoon to discuss the issue. The security of all involved in the IPL, whether players, spectators or those working in the stadiums, is of paramount importance to the BCCI. The Governing Council decided that Sri Lankan players will not participate in the Pepsi IPL 2013 League matches in Chennai and will advise the nine franchises accordingly.”

“We had to take two things into account. We have to take the local sentiments into account and at same time the safety and security of the Sri Lankan players are paramount.”

“If the local administration has given something we have to listen to that as ultimately we need the help of the state authorities to hold the tournament like security arrangement. We can’t ignore the advice from the local administration”.

Sri Lankan players in IPL:

Lasith Malinga - Mumbai Indians
Ajantha Mendis and Angelo Mathews - Pune Warriors 
Sachithra Senanayake - Kolkata Knight Riders
Muttiah Muralitharan and Tillakaratne Dilshan - Royal Challengers Bangalore
Kumar Sangakkara and Thisara Perera - Sunrisers Hyderabad
Kushal Janith Perera - Rajasthan Royals
Nuwan Kulasekara and Akila Dananjaya - Chennai Super Kings
Mahela Jayawardene and Jeevan Mendis - Delhi Daredevils

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