IPL: England Likely Venue, Say Reports

With parliamentary elections in India and the subsequent short supply of paramilitary troopers to guard cricketers the country negating prospects of the Indian Premier League being organised in India, the BBC says that England and Wales are favourites to host the Twenty20 crocket tourney.

It terms South Africa as the other possible venue but adds that the cricket authority in the country is not optimistic of hosting the tournament and believes England to be the top choice of oganisers.

IPL commissioner Lalit Modi revealed a decision could be made on Monday.

“I don’t think we will have a decision until late this evening because we need to go through every detail,” he said.

Modi said it would be a difficult choice and it would simply come down to who was best suited to host the tournament, which is scheduled to commence on 10 April and conclude on 24 May.

Modi was initially staunchly opposed to the prospect of taking IPL outside India, but governmental inability to ensure player safety saw him come around to ground realities, especially as the recent attack on Sri Lankan cricket team in neighbouring Pakistan has un-canned fresh threat worms for cricket.

Gerald Majola, chief executive of Cricket South Africa, said he believed his country was on standby should England not be able to host the competition.

England and Wales chief executive David Collier was flying from the West Indies, where England are playing, to London to hold talks with his Indian counterparts, said BBC in its report.

There are a lot of logistics to sort out as the tournament would clash with the start of the county season and the beginning of the West Indies’ tour of England.

“Once the ECB are aware of the requirements of the BCCI and IPL, they will move heaven and earn to try and accommodate this,” said Somerset chairman Andy Nash who said England had 80 percent chance of being the venue of the cricket carnival.