IPL bosses seek cover for games in Chennai, govt may be in a fix

CHENNAI: The IPL commission has sought protection from the Chennai police for teams playing in the city in the T20 event starting on April 3. According to police sources, the meeting will take place shortly and it's likely that the IPL commission will seek extra protection for the Sri Lankan players who are integral to various teams.
Barring Kings XI Punjab, all the IPL teams have at least one Sri Lankan player while Chennai Super Kings has two - Nuwan Kulasekara and Akila Dhananjaya.There are 10 matches scheduled in the city, starting on April 6 with CSK taking on Mumbai Indians.
Following protests against Sri Lanka, some of the IPL teams put forward a request to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), asking for a change of venue. But BCCI chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty said on Sunday that "as of now, the matches are still in Chennai". "We have no plans to shift them out," Shetty said.
IPL commissioner Rajeev Shukla, though, said they are "monitoring the situation".
Chief minister J Jayalalithaa is expected to make a statement soon requesting franchisees to respect the sentiment of the Tamils and drop Sri Lankan players from their teams for the Chennai games, said sources. However, the administration may find it difficult to force IPL organisers to leave the Sri Lankans out of the team or deny them protection. The tournament enjoys a huge following in TN, with CSK led by M S Dhoni acquiring iconic status with consecutive title triumphs in 2010 and 2011. "Any police decision will be communicated to the IPL commission after CM makes her stand clear on the issue," a senior police official said.
Apart from the CSK duo, the other Sri Lankan scheduled to take part in this year's IPL are Jeevan Mendis and Mahela Jayawardene (Delhi Daredevils), Sachithra Senanayake (Kolkata Knight Riders), Lasith Malinga (Mumbai Indians), Ajantha Mendis and Angelo Mathews (Pune Warriors), Kusal Janith Perera (Rajasthan Royals), Muttiah Muralitharan and Tillakaratne Dilshan (Royal Challengers Bangalore), Kumar Sangakkara and Thisara Perera (Hyderabad Sunrisers).
"Most of these Lankan players are crucial to the different teams and I don't think the franchisees would be ready to play matches in Chennai without these stars," an IPL insider said.