The Board for Control of Cricket in India have been forced to shift the tournament’s second edition overseas due to security concerns. The IPL’s schedule clashes with India’s general elections, and the Delhi government has refused to guarantee player security.
It is understood BCCI officials had considered England, South Africa and the UAE as potential hosts for the lucrative 45-day tournament, which is scheduled to start on April 10.
But the Dilawar Mani, president of the Abu Dhabi Cricket Council, says the chances of the Gulf state hosting the IPL are "non-existent."
Pakistan and Australia are due to play five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 match in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, all of which fall during the scheduled IPL season. And Mani said: "Dubai and Abu Dhabi are committed to the Pakistan-Australia series so there's no question of any other international event coming in before that. The IPL requires multiple games and the stadiums at Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah would be totally inadequate as they have 59 games."
Giles Clarke, chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, has already been in contact with Indian officials over the feasibility of the tournament being staged here.
“We have a very good relationship with the BCCI if they need any help on matters," said Clarke. "We normally talk to them a great deal and we would be delighted to help again."
An ECB statement confirmed that "exploratory statements" have already been held between English and Indian officials. "The ECB, at the request of the BCCI/IPL is examining the feasibility of hosting the 2009 IPL in England and Wales. This request has come to the ECB because of the impact of the timing of the national election in India on the ability to stage the IPL in India.
"The IPL is scheduled to be played between April 10 and May 24, 2009 and officials from both boards have held exploratory discussions to relocate the tournament to England and Wales. Further meetings will be held during the forthcoming week."
Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, has already drawn up a revised match schedule for the relocated tournament. He still expects the tournament to follow its original calendar, and insists early-season conditions in England would not prevent the tournament being staged here.
"I think [the English season] starts on April 7 or 8," said Modi. "The teams will need to prepare themselves in terms of clothing but we have already told them to get ready for all possibilities.
"It is warmer in South Africa but I don't think you should be looking at weather as an issue. In India, we play cricket in November, December, January when it is also very, very cold."
Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola has confirmed his board’s willingness to host the IPL and said he expects to meet with Indian officials.
"South Africa were officially approached today by the IPL officials, asking us whether we can host the event," Majola said.
"We are looking at their requirements to see whether we can fulfil them. As I understand, we are one of the parties that they have approached, but for now we can say that we are ready to host the IPL. However, we expect to meet the Indian officials soon to understand the situation better."
The UAE, home of the International Cricket Council, is another option, with both Dubai and Abu Dhabi now possessing international-class stadiums.
Speaking about the decision to move the tournament from India, BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said: “It is a matter of great regret that, in the prevailing atmosphere, where the government is expressing concern for providing security to the IPL matches, the BCCI is left with no other option but to conduct the Indian Premier League in another country."
Should the ECB stage the IPL it would signal a remarkable turnaround in relations between the two boards.
Clarke and chief executive David Collier have repeatedly clashed with BCCI officials over a number of issues including the participation of English players in the IPL.
The desire to establish a counterbalance to India’s increasing domination of the world game was one of the reasons behind the ECB’s disastrous relationship with Allen Stanford, the Texan billionaire now the subject of a multi-billion dollar fraud investigation.
Relations improved late last year, however, when England chose to return to India to complete a two-Test series following the deadly Mumbai terror attacks.
No comments:
Post a Comment