SUNIL JAYASIRI 
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Postpone SL-WI series due to IPL-India
The Indian cricket board (BCCI), the richest body in the sport, has prevailed upon the Sri Lanka and West Indies boards to postpone a series scheduled for May since it would have clashed with next year's Indian Premier League.
The West Indies are the reigning World T20 champions while the Lankans had finished runners-up in this year's tournament. The postponement ensures that a host of stars, including the likes of Chris Gayle, will become available for the entire IPL 6 season.
The Lankans were originally scheduled to tour West Indies for two Tests, three ODIs and two T20 internationals in May. The series will now be accommodated into the ICC's Future Tours Programme (FTP) at a later date. Incidentally, the IPL 6 schedule was also released on Friday.
"The Sri Lankan tour of the West Indies was rescheduled to allow players from both teams to participate in the IPL," Imran Khan, corporate communications officer of the West Indies Cricket Board, said in a press release.
The matter was first brought to the notice of the IPL franchises by the Lankan players themselves, who told their team owners to settle the matter with the Indian board as they wouldn't be available for the entire IPL season.
According to sources, BCCI then got in touch with the two boards (SLC and WICB) and discussed the matter.
The board has also promised a tri-series in exchange for allowing the Lankan and West Indies players to take part in the IPL. The WICB announced that the tri-series - involving India, Lanka and the hosts - would be held from June 28 to July 11, right after the final edition of the Champions Trophy in June in England next year.
"It was a mutual decision to host a tri-series," a source said. When TOI spoke to BCCI officials, they denied that pressure tactics were used to reschedule the series.
"As part of the ICC FTP, Sri Lanka was originally scheduled to tour the Caribbean for two Tests, three ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals in 2013. The two Tests have been deferred and will be played at a later date in the FTP cycle," the release said, adding: The bumper season of international cricket in the Caribbean will reach a crescendo when the three biggest teams in limited-overs cricket clash in the Caribbean in June and July next year in a seven-match ODI tri-nation series."(Times of India)
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