BCCI chief plays down IPL disruption threat

N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, has said the concerns surrounding the participation of Sri Lankan players in the IPL was an "operational issue" and would be handled accordingly.

Political tensions in India, especially in Tamil Nadu, over the treatment of Tamils in Sri Lanka had resulted in the Sri Lanka Players' Association raising concerns over the safety of Sri Lanka players in India during the IPL. Thirteen Sri Lankan players have been contracted with different franchises, including Chennai Super Kings who have Nuwan Kulasekara and Akila Dananjaya as part of their squad.

"India is a safe place," Srinivasan said in an interview to NDTV. "Every state in India is safe for playing cricket. I cannot predict anything, but these are operational matters. We have an event manager, IMG, who will deal with local issues as and when they arise. I believe the government of Tamil Nadu is extremely capable of handling any situation and there is absolutely no problem of law and order or anything of that kind here. And the IPL is still some time away. These are issues which, I think, will get sorted out."

Srinivasan also said that he was unaware of requests made by IPL franchises to shift games but said the board and the IPL would discuss the situation if needed.

Srinivasan expressed his happiness with India's 4-0 series win against Australia but refused to comment on the future of Sachin Tendulkar, who will turn 40 next month. In the home series against England, Tendulkar scored 112 runs at an average of 18.66, and he made 192 runs at an average of 32 against Australia. Having already retired from one-day internationals in December last year, and with India's next Test series several months away, there has been speculation about Tendulkar's Test retirement.

"I don't think anyone of us can talk about Sachin," Srinivasan said. "He is possibly the greatest cricketer India has produced. I don't think it is for us to sit and analyse his performance series-wise. Sachin is different from others. This is a personal view. I distinguish between selection and my view. If you ask my view, if you ask me what I feel, I think every Indian will say that Sachin is different from others."