March 23 2009 18:05 PST
The DLF Indian Premier League will be moving all of their dates for this upcoming season outside of India for this second season. England and South Africa have already thrown their hats into the ring as likely destinations for the six week tournament which starts on April 10. In other words, for season two of the Indian Premier League, none of the games will be held in India. Security concerns, mostly the inability to secure enough manpower for the six week tourney is the cause.
This move was not an easy one for Indian Premier League owner Lalit Modi, who tried desperately to reschedule the event to coexist with general elections that are taking place in India during the same time span. When the proposals were rejected, he was left with one of two choices: move the IPL elsewhere or cancel the season.
As expected, Indian TV news outlets were not happy with the news. Narendra Modi, the chief minister of the Indian state of Gujarat and a member of India's main opposition party, said the decision was "a huge loss to the country. This will ruin India's image before the world."
"The government's decision means India is not a safe place for cricket and it cannot guarantee security," he said. "I want to ask the Central Government, if it can't ensure the security of 11 cricketers then how can it protect (1.1 billion) Indians?"
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket South Africa are now battling to win the rights to host the tournament. Weather is not believed to be a factor in the decision, contrary to other reports.
ECB chief executive David Collier confirmed that it was interested.
"We have opened up discussions with the BCCI and the IPL within the last 36 hours and we'll be continuing those discussions in the middle of this week," Collier told the British Press Association. While there has been no confirmation as of yet, England looks to have the early advantage over South Africa in the chase to host the games which generated over $2 billion in revenue and advertising last year.
The good news that comes from this is that the season will kick off as scheduled with no delays or rescheduled events.
"This is disappointing, given the huge anticipation and excitement that exists for the IPL in India, said Mr. Manoj Badale, Chairman of Rajasthan Royals. "However, if the choice is no tournament, or the tournament in another country, then we clearly prefer the latter."
So what do you guys think? Are you happy that the IPL will continue or are you upset that the tournament won't even be held in the country that it is named after? Drop us a comment.
No comments:
Post a Comment