Sri Lankan players given green light to play in England

Sri Lankan cricket authorities have agreed to release their star players for the forthcoming English domestic season, a top official said on Wednesday.

K Mathivanan, secretary of Sri Lanka Cricket's interim committee, said the latest request to play abroad had come from Kumar Sangakkara, set to represent Warwickshire.

"The committee approved a request from Kumar yesterday along with that of Marvan Atapattu to play for Lashings World XI," Mathivanan told AFP. He said left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas's request to play for Middlesex had already been approved.

"We have told them that approvals are granted subject to Sri Lanka's international commitments," Mathivanan said.

Sri Lanka are expected to host Bangladesh in July for a Test and one-day series. Dates for the matches have yet to be finalised.