New Delhi, March 6: In the wake of the emergency declared in Sri Lanka’s Kandy town, senior BCCI official Rajeev Shukla on Tuesday urged the Indian government to ensure protection of the Indian cricket team which is currently in Colombo to take part in the Nidahas Trophy Twenty20 cricket tri-series.
Srilanka has imposed a nationwide state of emergency for 10 days , for the first time since the civil war era in response to days of violent unrest between Sinhalese(Buddhists) and Muslim communities.
The special measures permitting soldiers to be deployed in civilian areas will initially apply for 10 days, at which point the deployment would need to be ratified by parliament, said Mano Ganesan, the Sri Lankan minister for co-existence.
The violence in Kandy is understood to have been sparked when a group of Muslim men in Digana town were accused of killing a man belonging to the majority Sinhala Buddhist community, who make up about 75% of the population.
“Emergency has been imposed in Sri lanka after ethnic violence. Hope cricket match takes place. Urging govt of india to ensure protection for Indian players,” Shukla tweeted.
Emergency has been imposed in Srilanka after ethnic violence Hope cricket match takes place Urging govt of india to ensure protection far Indian players
— Rajeev Shukla (@ShuklaRajiv) March 6, 2018
India are scheduled to play against the hosts in the opener at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the BCCI media manager has assured that the situation is normal in Colombo.
“The situation in picture is Kandy and not Colombo. This is to notify everyone that after talking to concerned security personnel, we have understood that the situation is completely normal in Colombo,” he said.
BCCI in their Twitter handle instead have posted a tweet mentioning “Lot of intensity during practice on the eve of the 1st game of the Nidahas Trophy. An exciting contest awaits here in Colombo. Action starts soon”
Lot of intensity during practice on the eve of the 1st game of the Nidahas Trophy. An exciting contest awaits here in Colombo. Action starts soon #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/NLVZRRnDap
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 6, 2018
News source: IANS/Twitter/The Guardian
