Sri Lanka Cricket admitted that the BCCI’s decision to ban its players from participating in the inaugural edition of the Sri Lanka Premier League effectively pulled the plug on the tournament.
"Honestly, we are finding it difficult to have the Premier League without India's support," SLC spokesman Brian Thomas told cricket365.com. "We can't get into more debt." India's boycott deprived the tournament of a broadcaster for the lucrative Indian market, making it unviable at a time when SLC is going through financial instability.
Consequently, the tournament's inaugural edition has been pushed to August 2012, following a meeting between the new committee and Somerset Entertainment Ventures.
Meanwhile SLC will continue to try and persuade the Indian board about letting Indian players play in the tournament next year.
The Indian board's stand - which marked a U-turn of sorts after an initial green signal - was contrary to that of the boards of Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Pakistan, all of whom extended their support to the tournament. Tim May, the chief executive of Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA), had also backed the event.
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