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The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have
scrapped two Tests from Sri Lanka's tour of the West Indies next May and
instead plan to play an ODI tri-series involving India. The decision
also means that players from both teams will remain available during the
IPL, which runs from April 3 to May 26 next year. The teams were
scheduled to play two Tests, three ODIs and two Twenty20s as per the
Future Tours Programme. It is unclear if the Twenty20s will remain part
of the tour.
SLC chief executive Ajit Jayasekara denied the motive for foregoing the
Tests was to avoid a clash with the IPL, but failed to provide an
alternate reason. He said the WICB had put forward the idea, and the SLC
had agreed to the change in schedule after holding discussions.
Jayasekara said scheduling an ODI series instead of following the FTP
would end up being "more lucrative for the board".
WICB corporate communications manager Imran Khan said that all three
boards had agreed in principle to the tri-series. Dates and details
would be finalised following final sanction from the BCCI. Incidentally,
national boards receive 10% of each player's salary from the IPL.
This will be the second time Sri Lanka have foregone a Test series which
clashes with the IPL. In 2009, they declined to replace Zimbabwe in
England, when Zimbabwe were unable to tour for political reasons. In
2011, several players, including Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela
Jayawardene, missed tour matches playing in the IPL ahead of a
three-Test series in England, which Sri Lanka eventually lost 1-0.
West Indies spin bowler Sunil Narine also missed two Tests against
England due to his IPL commitments, though he did play in the third
Test. Chris Gayle did not feature in that series due to a standoff with
the board, which has since been resolved.
The change in the tour programme is also a continuation of the SLC's
recent trend of culling Tests from Sri Lanka's schedule. Two tests
against India in July became five ODIs and a Twenty20 and the three
Tests scheduled for England in March became a two-Test series as the IPL
approached. With the schedule now adjusted, Sri Lanka will not play an
away Test against a top-eight opposition between January and December.
The BCCI did not confirm India's involvement in any change of plans. "We
have been told about this but the matter is being discussed. Nothing
has been decided or finalised yet," a senior BCCI official said.
During its annual meeting in Malaysia, the ICC had decided not to create
a window for the IPL, as they did not want to set a precedent of
domestic tournaments taking priority over international cricket. "Once
you provide a window for one particular member, you have to be conscious
of the fact you may well have to do it for other members," then ICC
chief executive Haroon Lorgat said in June. "Hence why we have not been
supportive of a window specifically for any one of those domestic
leagues."
Additional reporting by Nagraj Gollapudi
Andrew Fernando is ESPNcricinfo's correspondent in Sri Lanka
Feeds: Andrew Fernando
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
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