Sri Lanka set to ink lucrative India offer 11 Oct, 2008 © AFP
 Sri Lanka Cricket's chief executive Duleep Mendis Sri Lankan officials will head to India next week to finalise a 40-million-dollar deal with the Indian Premier League, the island's sports minister has said. Gamini Lokuge said the deal would lead to the full participation of Sri Lankan players in the IPL and the Twenty20 Champions League for the next decade. The proposed deal follows a recent decision to release Sri Lankan players contracted to the IPL from next year's tour of England. "Our cricketers and our country can gain more benefits by participating in IPL matches. And therefore we are sending a team of officials to India next week to finalise it," Lokuge told parliament late Friday. Lokuge said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had also promised to reschedule the cancelled 2006 tri-nation one-day series featuring Sri Lanka and South Africa to next year. And India have offered to play another tri-nation series in 2010 which will bring in close to 18 million dollars for Sri Lanka Cricket, the minister said. SLC's chief executive Duleep Mendis will be part of the delegation that will fly to Mumbai on October 18 to finalise the deal with the BCCI, Lokuge said. | 
