Rediff

Dubai, Oct 13: International Cricket Council president David Morgan has condemned the US $40 million deal between Sri Lankan Cricket and the Indian Premier League, which will entail cancellation of Sri Lanka's Test tour to England, terming it unacceptable in the light of earlier agreements between the ECB and SLC.

A five-member SLC delegation will travel to India next week to finalise the deal after Sri Lanka's sports minister Gamini Lokuge gave the go ahead.

As per the deal, SLC will release the Lankan players for IPL, which in turn will pay US $40 million to the cash-strapped SLC as guarantee money it will forfeit due to cancellation of the two-Test series in England in May next year.

The Daily Telegraph quoted Morgan as condemning the deal, which, if ratified by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, will force the abandonment of Sri Lanka's Test series in England.

A report in the newspaper said the deal for the long-term release of Lankan players to the IPL is "quite unacceptable behaviour against the background of Sri Lanka's signed agreement with the ECB".

"Morgan pointed out that only last month the ICC reaffirmed the primacy of Test cricket with the unanimous agreement of all Full Members," the report said.

"Everyone signed up to the order of priorities, starting with ICC events like the World Cup. In second place come events under the FTP," it added.

Sri Lanka's tour is due from April 21 to May 30, while the second season of IPL is scheduled for April 10-May 25.

The series clashes with the latter stages of the IPL and a number of players in the Lankan squad such as captain Mahela Jayawardene [Images], Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara have signed lucrative contracts to play in the IPL.