Tamil activists in the state had threatened to disrupt IPL matches at home to denounce the killing of Tamils in Sri Lanka, following which the IPL Governing Council (GC) decided that all franchises, including hosts Chennai Super Kings, will not play their Sri Lankan players in matches scheduled in Chennai.
"The security of all involved in IPL - players, spectators or those working in stadiums, is of paramount importance to BCCI," the governing council has said. "It has been decided that Sri Lankan players will not participate in the IPL 2013 league matches in Chennai and will advise the nine franchises accordingly."
Some IPL franchises, who feel they will not be overly affected by non-participation of Sri Lankan players - which includes the Chennai Super Kings too - are willing to agree to the decision.
However, there are others who do not feel this is a fair call. While none of the franchise officials wished to speak on record, some did raise concerns that the decision was not fair on all teams and Sri Lankan players in particular.
Five IPL franchises have reputed Sri Lankan players, bought in the auction at high prices, who can single handedly change the course of a match in this fickle format.
The Sun Risers, for instance, have Kumar Sangakkara in their team who may be as important to their prospects as MS Dhoni is to CSK. Mumbai Indians could also be affected if Lasith Malinga is forced to sit out in a crucial game.
Similarly, Royal Challengers Bangalore have Tillakaratne Dilshan as opener and Muttiah Muralitharan as one of their main bowlers while Pune Warriors India are dependent on Angelo Mathews and Ajantha Mendis.
Further, some knockout matches are scheduled in Chennai too, which could become a larger issue as the tournament progresses.
Why did the governing council choose to ignore that in do-or-die matches, these players could be crucial to their teams' prospects. Instead, a wiser option would've been to shift the venue.
Every single time in the last five years when political circumstances ended up crippling the start of an IPL season, the governing council - final authority on decisions - unfalteringly decided to shift the venue to a more peaceful location simply to appease all parties concerned.
In 2009, the IPL was shifted to South Africa to ease the government's security concerns. In 2010, the Hyderabad franchise lost out on their share of matches because of the Telangana crisis.
In 2011, the Kochi franchise had to play quite a few of their home matches in Indore following multiple controversies. Between 2012 and 2013, Rajasthan Royals were almost forced to shift their matches out of Jaipur because of the ruling Congress-led state government's dispute with the BJP-influenced cricket association.
However, this year, the conflict involving the state of Tamil Nadu and the neighbouring Sri Lankan island has taken its toll on cricketers.
Instead, the governing council could've simply shifted matches out of Chennai, like in the past when similar decisions have been swiftly taken, to avoid another unnecessary controversy.
This is unless the BCCI president, who also owns the franchise, two-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings, personally intervened.
Four out of five IPLs so far have seen venue-related controversies
2009: IPL goes to SA
IPL had to be shifted out of the country, to South Africa, due to general elections. With IPL commissioner Lalit Modi in the hot seat, and the tournament only in its second year, the decision was taken by the governing council in less than two weeks. IPL in SA turned out to be a huge hit to BCCI's relief but sparked rumours of a rift between some board officials and some powerful ministers in the UPA.
2010: Telangana turmoil
The state of Andhra Pradesh burned as the agitation for the separate state of Telganga grew and led to massive violence. Hyderabad, caught in the middle of all the ire and controversy, was deemed unsafe to host IPL matches. The governing council quickly shifted Hyderabad's share of home matches to Visakhapatnam in coastal Andhra Pradesh and Cuttack in Orissa and hosts Deccan Chargers had no choice but to oblige.
2011: God's own country
The $333.33m worth Kochi franchise, bought by a consortium of investors, erupted into a massive controversy following Lalit Modi's disclosure that junior cabinet minister Shashi Tharoor's friend Sunanda Pushkar was holding sweat equity in the team. While the media intensely covered the mess, the BCCI also had to take the uncomfortable decision of shifting some of Kochi's home matches to Indore because of venue-related issues in the state of Kerala.
2012-2013 : Royal mess
Between 2012 & 2013, Rajasthan Royals were time and again under pressure to play their home matches in the sixth edition of the IPL in Gujarat - Ahmedabad and Baroda - following political bickering in the state of Rajasthan. The ruling congress government in the state clashed with the state cricket association and with the matter pending before the BCCI for long, Royals were almost on the verge of being forced to relocate.
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