06 March,2009 03:37 PM IST | | PTI
The cloud of uncertainty over the high-profile Indian Premier League (IPL) lifted on Friday when T20 League chairman Lalit Modi declared that it would be held in the country with few modifications in the schedule.
"The BCCI office-bearers met with the IPL today and we are thankful and grateful to Home Minister P Chidambaram for his clarification that security would be provided to the IPL," Modi told reporters here.
"We are in touch with all state governments and would soon come out with a revised schedule. We want to assure our sponsors, teams and fans that the IPL is on and there's no question of shifting it to other countries," Modi said.
Doubts were raised over the second edition of the tournament in the wake of the deadly terror attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore and the general elections in India which coincide with the league that starts April 10.
Chidambaram had earlier told reporters in Hyderabad that some re-scheduling of IPL matches was 'unavoidable' and he was trying his best to ensure that the second edition of the cash-rich League was held smoothly.
"The IPL schedule and election schedule virtually overlaps. When the IPL announced the schedule, the election dates were not declared. When the EC announced the dates, naturally they did not take note of it. The schedule was overlapping completely," Chidambaram said.
Modi also said that no IPL ties would be held anywhere in the country on the day (May 16) when countrywide counting of votes cast during the Lok Sabha polls takes place.
"On the day the countrywide counting of votes is done there won't be any matches held in any city. We have 14 cities available to host matches and are in the process of shortlisting eight of them," he said.
Modi also reiterated that there would be no matches in a particular centre on the day polling is held in that particular city.
"There are certain centres/states when there are blackout dates when voting takes place. We will take these into account when rescheduling the event," he said.
The IPL chairman also made it clear that there would be no reduction in the number of matches when compared to the IPL's earlier released schedule.
"There would be no reduction in the number of matches. The rescheduling is a cumbersome process and will take some time to finish. We will release the revised schedule once it's ready," he said.
Modi said that the IPL would have a meeting with its security consultants from South Africa next week to thrash out this issue which has become very important following the terror attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team in Pakistan earlier this week.
"Next week we will have a total security briefing when they (South African security consultants) are down here," he said. He also emphasised that there was no question of the IPL relocating to another country and said he wanted to put at rest all such speculations.
"There have been a lot of speculations and I request you to discount all these speculations," he said.
