
Indian Premier League (IPL) matches involving Sri Lankan cricketers will not be played in Tamil Nadu, the state government has said.
Chief Minister J Jayalalitha told the prime minister in a letter that there was "anger" in the state over Sri Lanka's treatment of Tamils.Players from around the world take part in the world's richest cricket league.
Thirteen Sri Lankans are signed up to play in the nine-team Twenty20 tournament, which begins on 3 April.
They include Mahela Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga, Tilakratne Dilshan and Ajantha Mendis.
Ten IPL games are scheduled to be played in Chennai (Madras), the capital of Tamil Nadu. Chennai Super Kings, one of the top franchises, has two Sri Lankans.
Last week the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution highly critical of Sri Lanka's human rights record. The government in Colombo rejects allegations of abuses.
Protests In her letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Ms Jayalalitha said people in Tamil Nadu had been angered by "barbaric acts" against Sri Lankan Tamils.
Her government therefore felt that "IPL matches involving Sri Lankan players, umpires and other officials should not be played in Tamil Nadu".
Ms Jayalalitha said her government would permit IPL matches to go ahead in Tamil Nadu "only if organisers provide an undertaking that no Sri Lankan players, umpires, officials or support staff would participate in these matches".
A senior federal minister, Rajiv Shukla, said the government was "reviewing" the demand.
"We will discuss the development with the franchises," he said.
On Monday, Indian cricket board chief N Srinivasan said "every state in India is safe for playing cricket".
"I cannot predict anything, but these are operational matters," Mr Srinivasan told the NDTV news channel.
Ajith Jayasekara, chief of Sri Lanka cricket, told the news channel that players were being kept informed developments.
Earlier this month the main opposition party in Tamil Nadu withdrew from India's governing coalition over its failure to condemn alleged atrocities against Sri Lankan Tamils.
There have been protests in the state over the treatment of Sri Lanka's Tamil minority.
bbc.com