SL players will abide by the board’s decision, says Sanga

Sri Lankan cricketers playing in the Indian premier League (IPL) will abide by the Sri Lanka Cricket Board’s decision, former Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara, who is captaining the Deccan Chargers in the IPL, said.

At a post-match press conference following his team’s first win in the IPL series, Sangakkara said his national team-mates playing in the IPL will have to abide by whatever their cricket board decides on their return home halfway into the Twenty20 league to tour England.

"We have a tour of England happening by the end of May. I think the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board will start calling us back. I am not sure if it is going to be May 5 or not," Sangakkara said after his team beat Royal Challengers by 33 runs in Hyderabad on Thursday.

Sri Lanka’s Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage has asked the Sri Lankan cricketers playing for the IPL to return to the country by May 5 to prepare for the tour to England which starts from May 14.

"It is up to the BCCI and SLC to negotiate on this. I think the board will start calling (us back). We as players, all we can do is to wait and see what that decision is and whether BCCI and the SLC communicate that decision to us and take a final stance on that," the skipper said.

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