BackIndia much more than Chennai, Tamil Nadu: Kumar Sangakkara
Rest of India has been very welcoming, says the cricketer on Tamil Nadu’s move to ban Sri Lankans from IPL matches
Premium(Ajay Aggarwal/Hindustan Times)
Hyderabad: Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara said on Monday and that he and his fellow players from the island wouldn’t let politics come in the way of cricket when they play in India, whether they represent their nation or their Indian Premier League (IPL) teams.
Sangakkara’s comments come in the backdrop of a ban imposed by the Tamil Nadu government on Sri Lankan players, umpires or support staff from participating in IPL matches in the state in the sixth edition of the Twenty20 tournament starting on 3 April.
“Politics in this case has affected or restricted our presence and our belief to play in every part of India. But I don’t think the spirit of cricket or spirit of sport is going to be curtailed by such acts," Sangakkara said.
The Tamil Nadu government acted because of anti-Sinhala sentiment in the wake of alleged human rights violations committed by Sri Lankian government forces on the island’s Tamil minority, especially in the last weeks and days of the civil war that ended in May 2009.
“India is much more than Chennai and Tamil Nadu and I think the rest of India has been very welcoming of us. We are here to play cricket on behalf of Sri Lanka as well as our franchisees," Sangakkara, the skipper of Hyderabad-based franchisee Sunrisers said.
A total of 13 Sri Lankan players, including captains of two of the nine franchisees, are playing in the sixth edition of IPL.
Sangakkara, who previously captained the Sri Lankan cricket team and is a top-ranked Test player, also pointed out that the issue has turned out to be divisive back home. Reacting to former Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga’s comment asking Sri Lankan players to skip the tournament in wake of the recent developments, Sangakkara said Sri Lankan players would have opted out of playing in India if there was some friction between the two nations.
“It’s been a divisive issue back home. But this is not a nation versus nation issue. It is only a state and I don’t think it is the entire state (Tamil Nadu). So, we got to put it in (the) right perspective," he said.
The Sri Lankan cricket board has asked its players not to play at any IPL matches in Tamil Nadu. The Sri Lankan foreign ministry has also issued an advisory to its citizens asking them to be cautious while visiting the state.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a key ally of the ruling United Progressive Alliance, pulled out of the central government over differences with the Congress-led coalition on certain amendments to a US-sponsored resolution in the United Nations Human Rights Council.
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