The Under-15 cricket team from Sri Lanka was sent back from Chennai to Colombo on Monday morning citing some security concerns.
The 16-member team had arrived from Colombo on Sunday to participate in JM Haroon cricket tournament, and were put up at an accommodation in the city. But owing to strong anti-Sri Lanka wave sentiments in Tamil Nadu police urged the team to leave as they were also denied permission to participate in the tournament this morning. And soon the team flew back home.
The Under-15 tournament is scheduled to be held from August 4-7.
The incident comes close on the heels of a derogatory article against Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, that was posted on a Sri Lankan official website.
The article also displayed a graphic image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The article triggered widespread public and political outrage in the state prompting Sri Lanka to remove it and issue an unqualified apology to the two leaders.
Incidentally in 2012, Jayalalithaa had, in line with her strident stance against Sri Lanka, ordered the sending home of a soccer team from that country which arrived here to play a friendly match.
The action came against the backdrop of her opposition to India training Sri Lankan military personnel not only in the state but also elsewhere in the country, saying the Lankan forces had committed war crimes against Tamils in the island nation.
An official in the Nehru stadium of the state government was suspended for giving oral approval for the match.
