Sri Lankan activists of the Buddhist nationalist group ‘Power of Ravana’ shout slogans and wave placards as they stage a demonstration outside the Sri Lanka Cricket head office in Colombo yesterday. The monks oppose national team players visiting India to play in the Indian Premier League tournament amid a ban on them by the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Sri Lanka’s cricket board said that it would allow its players to take part in the IPL Twenty20 tournament in India next month after receiving assurances about their safety. The government in Colombo had threatened to prevent any of the 13 Sri Lankan players contracted to play in the Indian Premier League from taking part after they were all effectively barred from playing in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
