The suspense over the new destination of the Indian Premier League is expected to continue for another 24 hours.
The suspense over the new destination of the Indian Premier League is expected to continue for another 24 hours. Lalit Modi, who promised to come out with venues and schedule by Monday evening, might well need another day to make the pronouncement.
“At this stage nothing is clear,” said a top official of the league.
At this stage nothing may be clear yet but situation seems to have dramatically changed. Whether the IPL is heading towards South
Africa or not is not yet known but what is known is Modi is first heading to South Africa. The situation was the opposite on Sunday night. The IPL boss was to fly to Johannesburg from London. “Give me 24 hours. I will announce the schedule,” Modi said. He claimed to have the possession of schedule for both countries.
One of the reasons for the sudden turnaround, it is learnt, is the support extended by not just Cricket South Africa but also the South African Government. They have, it is learnt, offered heavy discount on many counts to the IPL, which is expected to shell out about Rs 100 crore more to hold the league overseas. That said, it is not to say that South Africa is certain. There are also indications that a section of the IPL and the Indian board is still in favour of England.
“We will be happy to host the tournament here and provide the Indians the best possible hospitality. We’re waiting for the announcement from the IPL,” Gerald Majola, the CEO of the CSA, told this paper.
It is believed that the CSA has convinced its government to expedite the visa-process for the Indians during the IPL period.
Modi put off his visit to England for the sole reason that he would not have had anybody to speak to in London. The England and Wales Cricket Board officials were not available in that country. Modi, however, was expected to have talks with IMG, which has a base in London and is one of the main forces behind the evolution of the league.
Giles Clarke and David Collier are to fly back to London only on Monday night — the former from Australia and the latter from Guyana. They were due to meet Modi on Tuesday. Collier was also scheduled to fly to Singapore for an ICC meeting but has changed his plans to meet Modi. They may still meet Modi on Tuesday if the IPL official’s talks with Cricket South Africa do not reach the expected results.
It was learnt that the ECB has prepared a schedule for the IPL without disturbing the domestic calendar in England. However, the ECB, one learnt, did not want to spare each IPL frachisee a base, as proclaimed by Modi on Sunday.
Besides, each major county has one or two four-day matches (most have two, Lord’s has three and a Test), plus a few one-day games scheduled during the IPL period — from April 10 to May 24. Only Headingley had the fewest matches as it is laying a drainage system at the venue.
Meanwhile, ECB could face a potential resistance from Sky, the media rights holder in England as its rival Setanta has the IPL rights. With IPL matches scheduled to clash with the international fixtures (like the Windies Tests), Sky may claim losses. It might lead to avoidable legal wrangling.
When contacted, a Sky spokesman told DNA that they have not had any official word from the ECB. “At this stage no comments because the ECB has not officially informed us,” Sky’s media officer James Motley said from London.
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