Sports Minister Mahindanda Aluthgamage has directed SLC chairman DS de Silva and secretary Nishantha Ranatunga to rush to India and sort out the issue of Indian players` participation in Sri Lankan Premier League.
Following this, a meeting has been arranged tomorrow to discuss the BCCI`s objections to the Sri Lankan tournament, according to ESPNcricinfo.
"I have instructed the chairman and the secretary to rush to India and convince the Indian board officials to allow their players to play in our tournament," Aluthgamage was quoted as saying by `Daily Mirror`.
"The chairman will be directly arriving from London, where he has been with the Sri Lanka team, and Ranatunga will join him from Sri Lanka," he added.
Aluthgamage is confident that a solution could be worked out by the two Boards.
"We have good rapport with Indian Board and I am sure the issue will be sorted out amicably. The first edition of this tournament will go ahead as scheduled (July 19 to August 4, 2011)," said the minister.
There was speculation the BCCI disallowed Indian players from taking part in the League as it suspected former IPL Chairman Lalit Modi could be involved the SLPL. Modi, however, has rubbished reports of any involvement in the T20 league.
Aluthgamage clarified that Modi has nothing to do with the SLPL.
"I can say with 100 per cent assertion there is no role of Lalit Modi in SLPL. I am unaware about his trip to this country, if he had made one two months ago," he explained.
The BCCI had refused No Objection Certificates to 12 Indian players -- Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Dinesh Karthik, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Manoj Tiwary, Saurabh Tiwary, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Manish Pandey and Paul Valthaty -- saying that SLPL is not a tournament organised by SLC but by a private party based in Singapore on its behalf.
SLC had denied Indian Cricket Board`s claims and said that the event is owned and approved by SLC.