In a complete volte face to his earlier stance on IPL, Ranatunga made it clear that the board released the players for only the inaugural edition which concluded last month.

"I take it that the (Sri Lankan) players would be prepared to heed the call to perform for their country in preference to the IPL. At the most, the players concerned would miss a part of the IPL series on account of the tour of England," Ranatunga said in his letter to the top players.

Incidentally, the former captain had earlier remarked that the players could not be forced to tour England at the expense of IPL.

Singing a different tune, Ranatunga wrote "by permitting our national players to participate in the IPL, it is private individuals who earn a percentage of the players' earning while Sri Lanka cricket gets no financial benefits whatsoever."

On the players' unfavourable response to a letter by SLC Chief Executive Duleep Mendis late last year regarding the commitments of the national players, Ranatunga said they should agree to tour England for the two Tests and 3 ODI series in April/May 2009.