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Dilhara Fernando finished a controlled spell late on the first day at Centurion, showing promising signs

Firdose Moonda at SuperSport Park15-Dec-2011Nine years ago, on this very ground, Dilhara Fernando almost bowled Sri Lanka to victory over South Africa. The visitors set South Africa a small target of 121, yet had them seven down when victory came. Four of the seven sticks belonged to Fernando. This time, with his side being shot out cheaply on the first day at Centurion, a repeat of such a finish is a pipe dream but with Fernando on form the visitors still have belief.”He [Fernando] is at his peak,” Kaushal Silva, Sri Lanka wicket-keeper said. “He has been doing well for the past couple of months. In the Abu Dhabi tour [against Pakistan], he bowled really quickly. If he bowls well and takes vital wickets, he will be the key man for us.”Fernando finished a controlled spell late on the first day, showing promising signs. He surprised Graeme Smith with a bouncer and then pitched one up to have the South African captain rapped on the pads – a crucial wicket that created a small opening for Sri Lanka. With Dale Steyn at the crease as the night watchman, and a circumspect Jacques Rudolph at the other end on the second morning, Sri Lanka may see the chance to prise the crack open a little wider.”It moves a lot in the morning,” Silva said. “If we can take two or three early wickets in the morning, we can come back into the game.” Overhead conditions may not assist Sri Lanka in their task, with skies clearing as the first day wore on and stars visible once darkness descended. Still, they have to hope, after a dismal outing with the bat in which they were rolled out for 180.”We were hoping for around 250 or 300, and with the way Mahela [Jayawardene] and later Thilan [Samaraweera] were going, we were on target to get there,” Silva said. After the pair was dismissed, Sri Lanka lost six wickets for 24 runs and finished well below par on a pitch that should become easier for batting.Sri Lanka’s troubles began at the top, when Tillakaratne Dilshan started the rot by playing a rash shot that had no place in a Test match. Silva said the team was not disappointed by the captain’s failure and appreciated that when he comes off, it serves them well. “That’s his natural game,” Silva said. “Sometimes it is an advantage because if he scores quickly, the pressure on the team comes down.”This time, it did not work and the resulting wretched batting means Sri Lanka put themselves on the back foot. Silva tried to stay positive, though, and hinted that the defensive bowling they started with could turn into something more aggressive on the second morning. “The last few overs, we bowled really well. Tomorrow morning we will need to start again and forget about what happened today.”Forget they might, but undo they cannot, and it will require a supreme effort from Fernando and others to erase the effect of the first-innings collapse and turn this match into a contest.

MS Dhoni said he will decide in 2013 if he will take part in the next World Cup two years later

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Dec-2011India captain MS Dhoni has said the chances of him being available to defend India’s World Cup title in 2015 aren’t guaranteed, and that he will take a call two years prior to the tournament in Australia-New Zealand. Dhoni, who has been around since 2005, has been captaining India in all three formats, in addition to his role as wicketkeeper-batsman.”If you see 2015, three and a half years to go, I don’t really know where I will stand. Everything needs to go off well and then close to 2013, I will have to take a call whether I can be 100% available for the 2015 World Cup,” Dhoni told the news channel .”Because at the end of the day you don’t want a wicketkeeper part of the side who has not played at least 100-odd games – at least close to 80-100 games going into the World Cup. So that’s a call that needs to be taken. But if everything goes off well, 2013 end will be the time where we will have to carefully study the body and see what can be done.” Dhoni was speaking to after receiving the news channel’s Indian of the Year – Sports award for 2011.India’s packed schedule in recent years, with the IPL thrown in, has compelled Dhoni to prioritise and take adequate rest before important tours. This year, he skipped the one-dayers in the West Indies after an exhausting World Cup and the IPL, as well as West Indies’ return series (ODIs) in India which concluded recently. Parthiv Patel took over the gloves in both.Dhoni’s trophy cabinet in limited-overs cricket includes the World Cup, the 2007 World Twenty20, plus two IPL titles and the 2010 Twenty20 Champions League. The 2011 World Cup remains his most significant achievement till date, smashing an unbeaten 91 in a tense final against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, sealing the victory with a six.The normally phlegmatic Dhoni didn’t hide his emotions, as television cameras managed to capture scenes of several of his team-mates openly crying with joy. Reliving the moment, Dhoni admitted that he too cried, though away from the camera.”Yes I did (cry) you don’t really have footage of that,” Dhoni said. “It’s very difficult to control an emotion like that. I was controlling it, quickly. I wanted to go up to the dressing room and I see two of my players crying and running onto me. Fortunately, all of a sudden, I started crying and I looked up and there was a huddle around me.”It was one of the biggest things for us as Indian cricketers. The last time we won the proper 50-over version was 28 years back. So most of the people part of the side wanted to win the World Cup and as soon as we got into a position where we saw the World Cup coming into our dressing room, that was the time when emotions started to flow. If you see before the post-match presentation, almost each and every player cried.”Dhoni’s unconventional batting style, full of improvised strokes, has won him plenty of attention over the years. One of his patented strokes is the ‘helicopter shot’, which he sometimes employs to dig out yorker length deliveries, in which he twirls the bat above his head in the follow-through.He said it originated from his tennis-ball cricket days in Jharkhand.”We played on a 16-18 yard wicket with a tennis ball and most of the times the bowler tried to push in a yorker,” Dhoni said. “That was the kind of shot that you needed to hit it for a six because in tennis ball cricket, you don’t have to middle it. Even if you are using the bottom-most part of the bat, if you hit it quite well, it always goes over the boundary.”I think I became better. I never practiced it, I used it in the games. And not to forget, I’ve quite often hit my left ankle doing that. Over the years you get better and better and I’ve seen a few other people trying to copy it.”

Nathan Lyon’s recall in place of a fast bowler will be the only change to Australia’s XI for the fourth Test against India at Adelaide Oval, the national selector John Inverarity has confirmed

Daniel Brettig17-Jan-2012Nathan Lyon’s recall in place of a fast bowler will be the only change to Australia’s XI for the fourth Test against India at Adelaide Oval, the national selector John Inverarity has confirmed.Inverarity has named an unchanged squad for the final match of the series, indicating that Lyon’s return to the team was guaranteed after missing out on a speedy pitch in Perth. Lyon has taken only two tail-end wickets in the series, but will be leaned on heavily on an Adelaide surface that will invariably take turn as the match progresses.”A spin bowler has always been a priority in Test matches at Adelaide Oval and it is very likely that Nathan Lyon will replace one of the other bowlers in the final XI for the fourth Test,” Inverarity said.”The fact the Australians were able to dismiss India in only 60 and 63 overs in Perth and the extra two rest days because the Test finished early has meant that there is reduced concern about excessive workloads for the fast bowlers. Michael Clarke’s team will be striving to maintain the momentum with a win in Adelaide.”The choice of which fast bowler to drop for Adelaide will be a vexing one, given that all delivered piercing spells at the WACA ground. Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle are the two quicks arguably in need of some rest, having played every match of the India series so far.Siddle, the most durable member of the pace attack this summer, has played in eight consecutive Tests since forcing his way back into the team for the final match in Sri Lanka. However his bowling method may be better suited to Adelaide than Hilfenhaus, who has not enjoyed much success at the ground for Tasmania and was left out of the XI for the corresponding Ashes Test last summer.Ryan Harris’ fitness is constantly monitored, but he has a strong record of performance at Adelaide Oval from his time with South Australia. Mitchell Starc’s case is also strong, given his wickets in both innings at the WACA and also the selectors’ desire to build his experience and poise for future international assignments.The unchanged squad also affords further chances for the top order batsman Shaun Marsh and the wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, both of whom have endured difficult series against India despite Australia’s 3-0 domination. Shane Watson was again not considered due to ongoing calf trouble.

Jamaica’s prime minister Portia Simpson Miller has demanded that a resolution in the impasse between Chris Gayle and the West Indies Cricket Board be found quickly

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Feb-2012Jamaica’s prime minister Portia Simpson Miller has demanded that a resolution in the impasse between Chris Gayle and the West Indies Cricket Board be found quickly. Speaking at the Jamaica Cricket Association awards, Simpson Miller said that Gayle was being treated unjustly and deserved a place in the West Indies team. She also expressed concern that Sabina Park was not allocated a match for West Indies’ upcoming home one-day and Test series against Australia.”Justice delayed is justice denied and we demand that a resolution be found as quickly as possible,” Simpson Miller said on the Gayle issue. “Cricket is too important to the people of Jamaica and the West Indies for this to be left down the wicket.”Gayle last played for West Indies in the 2011 World Cup, after which a conflict with the WICB has kept him out of the setup. In October 2011, the WICB released a statement saying it would consider Gayle for selection if he retracted statements he had made criticising the board and its officers. The release said the board would appoint a facilitator to assist Gayle in complying with their requirements. Gayle, though, said the WICB needed to be specific about what he was supposed to apologise for. He said the board was playing mind games with him, and that he would consider their request at the end of the Regional Super50 competition.Jamaica won the Regional Super50 with Gayle finishing second on the run-charts. He has continued to collect big runs in Twenty20 competitions and scored his first first-class hundred in over a year, a remarkable innings of 165 off 155 balls out of a total of 298, against Windward Islands earlier this month. However, there have been no significant developments in his relations with the WICB.Simpson Miller spoke about the progress of Jamaican cricket, and the success of its various teams, and emphasised that Sabina Park was a venue that should be hosting matches whenever teams toured the West Indies. “Sabina Park is one the finest stadiums anywhere and I am concerned that Jamaica is not a venue for a Test against Australia.”I understand that the JCA is trying to get one of the games against New Zealand [who are scheduled to tour in July 2012] and you have my support in this. Sabina Park, Jamaica, is suitable for any tour of the West Indies.”Simpson Miller urged the Jamaican board to promote cricket in schools. She also said the WICB had done nothing with the recommendations made by a committee under the chairmanship of former Jamaican prime minister PJ Patterson on how the structure of West Indies cricket could be improved. “You can, however, depend on me as prime minister of Jamaica to follow up on this,” she told members of the JCA. “All of us – players, administrators and fans – have a responsibility to restore this sport, in which we have done so well, to its former glory.”

A round-up of the fourth round of matches in the Faysal Bank One Day National Cup Division One 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Mar-2012Group AFaisal Iqbal cracked an unbeaten century to take Pakistan International Airlines to a thrilling win over Habib Bank at the Gaddafi Stadium. Coming in at 39 for 4 in a chase of 243, Iqbal hit ten boundaries in making 107 off 106 deliveries. Shoaib Malik (44) was the only batsman to support Iqbal in a 94-run partnership after the top order had caved in to Fahad Masood and Aftab Alam. Wickets continued to fall but Iqbal did not give in at the other end as he eventually took PIA home in the final over. Hasan Raza top-scored for Habib Bank with an unbeaten 56 with Ahmed Shehzad contributing 42. Zia-ul-Haq dismissed the Habib Bank openers on his way to 3 for 49.Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited’s lower order collapsed as State Bank of Pakistan won narrowly by two runs at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. ZTBL were 228 for 6 chasing 240, and lost their last four wickets for nine runs to be dismissed for 237. Hasan Mahmood struck twice while the last two batsmen were run out. Adnan Rasool had given State Bank an opening when he bowled Abdul Razzaq (55) and Imran Nazir (49) who had helped ZTBL recover from 58 for 3. Fifties from Rameez Raja, Rameez Aziz and Gulraiz Sadaf had earlier taken State Bank to 239. Razzaq claimed 5 for 50 but his haul was to be in vain in the end.Water and Power Development Authority’s lower order held their nerve in a low-scoring game to hand their side a three-wicket win over National Bank of Pakistan at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. WAPDA were tottering at 124 for 7 in reply to National Bank’s 156 but Ali Azmat and Zulfiqar Babar ensured there were no further issues for their side as they patiently brought up victory in the 46th over. Rafatullah Mohmand (47) had lifted WAPDA from 12 for 2 after their bowlers had dismissed National Bank for 156. Azharullah and Imran Khan picked up two wickets each while Babar chipped in with three strikes. Fawad Alam (52) was the lone National Bank batsman to make more than 30.Group BKhalid Usman hammered 50 off 23 to take Abbottabad Falcons to a thrilling last-over two-wicket win against Rawalpindi Rams at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. At 224 for 8, Abbottabad’s chase of 268 was almost over but Usman smashed nine boundaries and along with Inam Khan, who made 10 off seven, carried his side to victory with just two balls to spare. Usman’s effort ensured the starts from Rameez Ahmed (46), Almar Afridi (50) and Riaz Kail (47) were not in vain. Rawalpindi shrugged off an underwhelming start to post 267 for 8 riding on Umar Waheed (62) and Yasim Murtaza (68).Faisalabad Wolves’ bowlers set up a five-wicket win against Karachi Dolphins in Sargodha. Waqas Maqsood, Naseer Akram and Aqeel Ahmed dismissed Karachi for 154 in the 42nd over. While Maqsood picked up four wickets, Naseer snapped up three of the top five Karachi batsmen. Only opener Khalid Latif (79) managed to resist but he hardly had any support. Faisalabad were themselves struggling at 38 for 3 in their chase, but Hasan Mahmood settled the nerves with a fifty and Zeeshan Butt and Mohammad Salman took over from 119 for 5 as Faisalabad got home in the 40th over.Sialkot Stallions crushed Islamabad Leopards by eight wickets at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot. Mohammad Yasin led the chase of 152 with a breezy 84 upfront. Mansoor Amjad contributed an unbeaten 41 at No. 4 as Sialkot stormed to victory in just 31.5 overs. The win had been set up by the efforts of the Sialkot bowlers, who dismantled Islamabad for 151. Atif Jabbar led with three strikes and it was only due to Faizan Riaz (71) that Islamabad managed to go past 100 after having slipped to 77 for 6.

Harbhajan Singh, the Mumbai Indians captain, has criticised the Wankhede Stadium pitch for the game against Deccan Chargers on Sunday, saying it was not ideal for Twenty20 cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Apr-2012Harbhajan Singh, the Mumbai Indians captain, has criticised the Wankhede Stadium pitch for the game against Deccan Chargers on Sunday, saying it was not ideal for Twenty20 cricket. The grassy pitch offered plenty of seam movement and the batsmen from both sides struggled. Chargers set a paltry target of 101, which Mumbai chased down in 18.1 overs with five wickets in hand.”This was a different wicket from what we have played at the Wankhede,” Harbhajan said. “Not good for Twenty20 cricket. I came today and saw the pitch and said ‘wow what to expect here’, we never know what to expect from this track ever. From next time, I think we have to ensure we know what kind of wicket we are going to play.”Chargers captain Cameron White too agreed with Harbhajan, saying it was “probably not an ideal T20 wicket”, but admitted that Mumbai played better.White had captained the team in place of Kumar Sangakkara, who sat out. White said the decision was taken by Sangakkara and the coach Darren Lehmann, in the best interests of the team combination. Sangakkara has been struggling for form this season, scoring 83 runs in five innings. White, though, praised Sangakkara for his selflessness.”Darren Lehmann and Kumar were discussing it (the combination) and decided to pick the best combination for this wicket,” White said. “Very selfless thing for Kumar to do. It’s unusual to change the captain when you get to the ground. It backfired now but on other occasions it might work.”White said he and the rest of the batsmen should take the blame for the defeat. “We failed to bat out our overs, we still had eight balls to face. At the end of the day you’re not going to win too many T20 games when you score 101.”The way our team make-up is, we probably need three overseas batsmen. I don’t think we have the luxury of doing that because our local batters aren’t strong at the moment.”Dale Steyn bowled a hostile spell for the Chargers, bowling Richard Levi first ball and beat the bat on several occasions. He finished with figures of 4-0-10-2 but the support bowlers weren’t good enough to sustain the Chargers. Rohit Sharma had several close calls against Steyn but the batsman carried the chase with 42, before falling 26 short of the target. White was full of praise for Rohit.”Rohit Sharma I believe is one of the best players in the world. I find it very hard to believe he’s not playing for India in all three formats,” White said. “He’s just class and Dale was able to get it past the outside edge and it was a great contest.”Edited by Kanishkaa Balachandran

ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL match between Pune Warriors and Mumbai Indians in Pune

The Preview by Devashish Fuloria02-May-2012Match factsThursday, May 3, Pune
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Sachin Tendulkar is one shot away from scoring a hundred runs in IPL 2012•AFPBig PicturePune Warriors started their campaign in IPL 2012 with an uplifting win against pre-tournament favourites, Mumbai Indians and followed it up with an easy win over Kings XI Punjab. But since then, they have played seven games and won only two, with a hat-trick of losses. Second from the bottom, Warriors still have a chance of qualifying for the play-off stage, but with just six games to go they will need to stay focussed.Mumbai Indians have had five wins from nine games even though they haven’t performed to their potential. Of all their big names, only Lasith Malinga has been consistent while Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh haven’t fired. Rohit Sharma is the top-scorer in the line-up but his tournament tally is half that of Ajinkya Rahane’s and he has given his wicket away easily in crunch situations. Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik, though, have shown signs of form after an indifferent start to the season. Mumbai Indians have often reiterated the importance of having Tendulkar at the top to provide stability. However, he has scored 94 runs in five games and Sourav Ganguly would hope to keep the pressure on him.Michael Clarke made an impressive IPL debut in the last game and scored his runs at a good clip with proper cricketing shots, much like Rahane. Clarke’s ability should relieve Robin Uthappa of the stabilising role, allowing him to take a more aggressive stance. In their bowling department, Warriors have missed Ashok Dinda as Ashish Nehra has been expensive as a death bowler.Form guide (most recent first)
Pune Warriors: LLLWL
Mumbai Indians: WLWLLPlayers to watchSteven Smith is the second highest run-getter for Warriors this season with 267 runs at a strike rate of 159.88. While several other top run-scorers have faced more than 200 balls, Smith has only faced 167, highlighting that he could have a greater impact if he is given more time in the middle.Ambati Rayudu has looked in good form in recent games. While his cameo in Mohali won the game for Mumbai Indians from a difficult position, his counter-attacking 62 in Delhi kept the team in hunt after the loss of early wickets. With an inconsistent top order, the responsibility will be again on him.Stats and trivia Mumbai Indians’ average of 21.58 runs per wicket is the lowest in this IPL. Warriors are third from the top with an average of 27.05. Mumbai Indians scored 101 against Warriors in their last match, the second-lowest score this season after their 92 all out against Delhi Daredevils.Quotes”One always plans to succeed but the success rate may not always be nine on 10. IPL comes with certain pressure, but we’ve played well overall and haven’t been dominated by any team.”

“I am very thankful to MI, especially Robin Singh (MI coach) and Sachin sir, for giving me this opportunity. MI gave me a chance when I needed one.”

Sri Lanka Cricket has signed a new deal with Somerset Entertainment Ventures to hold the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) in 2012, ESPNcricinfo has learned

Tariq Engineer07-May-2012Sri Lanka Cricket has signed a new deal with Somerset Entertainment Ventures to hold the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) in 2012, ESPNcricinfo has learned. The deal was signed on May 5 and the tournament has been tentatively scheduled to be held between August 10 and August 31, just ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 that will be held in Sri Lanka in September.The SLPL was supposed to kick off last year, with SLC’s then interim committee signing a five-year deal with Somerset Entertainment Ventures to organise the event. However, the Sri Lankan board was forced to postpone the tournament after the BCCI refused to allow its players to participate at the last minute, causing a delay in the naming of the final composition of the teams and affecting overall preparations for the event. In addition, the interim committee that signed the deal was subsequently replaced and there was criticism of some of the clauses in the contract by the parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE).A new set of administrators were elected in January and they have been negotiating with Somerset Entertainment Ventures to resolve their differences. The new deal has addressed the concerns raised by the COPE report and has been cleared by the office of the Sri Lankan attorney general, ESPNcricinfo understands.The format of the tournament remains the same. SLPL will have seven teams that will play each other in a league format followed by semi-finals and finals. The games will most likely be played in Colombo and Kandy. Last year’s event was scheduled to kick off on July 19, 2011, with the final to be played on August 6. The tournament hit its first hurdle when the BCCI decided to withhold its permission to allow Indian players to take part on the grounds that Somerset Entertainment Ventures, which owned the commercial rights, would be handling the contracts for international players and that it could lead to complications, should disputes arise over payments.In order to assuage the Indian board, SLC was willing to back the Indian players’ contracts so that their financial interests were protected, but that was not enough to satisfy the BCCI. There were also suggestions that former IPL chairman Lalit Modi had a hand in the event, but SLC and Somerset Entertainment Ventures repeatedly denied them, as did Modi.

Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd, the owner of IPL side Deccan Chargers, is exploring the possibility of selling all or part of the franchise and has appointed an investment banker to search for prospective buyers

Tariq Engineer15-Jun-2012Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited, the owner of IPL side Deccan Chargers, is exploring the possibility of selling all or part of the franchise and has appointed an investment banker to search for prospective buyers, ESPNcricinfo has learned. When contacted, a franchise spokesperson declined to comment on the matter, but a person familiar with the development said Religare Capital Markets has been appointed to handle the deal.Deccan Chargers was bought by the Deccan Chronicle group for US$107 million in the first IPL team auction in 2008. At the time, it was the third-most expensive franchise, after Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. During the second team auction in 2010, the Pune franchise was sold to the Sahara group for $370 million while the now dissolved Kochi franchise was bought by a consortium for $333 million.If the owners are successful in finding a buyer, they would be the second in the IPL to sell at least a part of the franchise. In 2009, Rajasthan Royals, then the reigning IPL champions, sold an 11.7% stake in the franchise for approximately $15.4 million to Shilpa Shetty, the Bollywood actress, and her partner Raj Kundra, a UK-based businessman. That put the valuation of the franchise at around $140 million, more than double the $67 million the owners, Emerging Media, paid for it a year ago in 2008.Led by Adam Gilchrist, the former Australia wicketkeeper, Chargers won the IPL in 2009. They struggled in this season’s event, however, finishing eighth out of nine teams and winning just four games under the leadership of Kumar Sangakkara, the former Sri Lanka captain, and Cameron White, the Australia batsman.

Players’ associations have insisted on pre-emptive measures to ensure cricketers playing in the Sri Lanka Premier League are paid on time, FICA chief executive Tim May has revealed

Andrew Fernando04-Aug-2012Players’ associations have insisted on pre-emptive measures to ensure cricketers playing in the Sri Lanka Premier League are paid on time, Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) chief executive Tim May has revealed.The Sri Lankan Cricketers’ Association and FICA were successful in pushing for the inclusion of new clauses in player contracts, drawn up specifically for the tournament. Under these clauses, players must be paid 25% of their tournament salary upon arrival in the SLPL, another 25% upon completion of their team’s first match, and the remaining 50% after the team’s last match.A bank guarantee for the players’ full salaries has also been included in the contracts as a safety net, and outstanding pay will be automatically drawn down seven days after any defaulted pay day. 

”If anything goes terribly amiss and the bank guarantee is not available, then the player’s got every right to say, ‘Sorry, you haven’t kept your end of the deal; I’m not keeping mine’,” May said.According to May, the measures had been taken in light of a worsening trend of players going unpaid, or receiving only part of their pay from domestic T20 competitions, and the SLPL being a new tournament with no positive payment history to show. “We’ve learnt now from start-up tournaments that we need to change the contracts to protect the players better, so we’ve then gone down the next line of introducing greater protection for the players.”This won’t be confined to the SLPL. For other start-ups like competitions in the USA next year, and the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) where we’re experiencing problems as we speak, we’ll be insisting on these bank guarantees to cover the full amount of player payment.”FICA has been involved in the discussion on the outstanding player salaries from the inaugural BPL which concluded in February. In July, May said that $600,000 was still owed to overseas players alone, but the BPL has said this figure is $70,000. FICA had advised players taking part in the BPL to request at least 25% of their pay before the tournament started, though this had not been part of the contract agreements.Several members of the Royal Challengers Bangalore 2012 side, including captain Daniel Vettori, are also yet to receive the first installment of their IPL pay. Players who took part in a separate All Star Twenty20 event in Toronto also complained about going unpaid following the match.The SLPL will run from August 10 to August 31, with all the matches being played in two venues in Colombo and Kandy. Overseas players set to play include Chris Gayle, Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal.