Sri Lanka's four-member official team to Bangkok has returned empty handed as the Indian Premier League (IPL) organisers have denied that there is a Rs. 70 million deal with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).
The four-member team of officials, comprising SLC's CEO Duleep Mendis, Sidat Wettimuny, Greame Labrooy and Sports Ministry Secretary S. Liyanagama, have been told by the IPL officials that there is no official deal with the SLC, as speculated by Sri Lanka media recently.
The IPL officials have told the Lankan officials that a team from Sri Lanka could only take part in the Indian Super League and that there is no such Rs. 70 million deal as speculated by media.
The Lankan team of officials went to discuss the possibility of Sri Lanka's IPL contracted players taking part in both the 2009 IPL and in Sri Lanka's summer tour of England next year. Recent media reports said the SLC has secured a Rs. 70 million deal with the IPL for the next ten years.