Ipl to be held in overseas

The Indian Premier League will be held overseas this season because of security concerns since it coincides with the country's general elections.
Some players and officials had expressed concerns about playing on the subcontinent after a terrorist attack on Sri Lanka's cricket team in Lahore, Pakistan earlier this month. India was also the target of a terror attack in Mumbai in November which left 164 people dead and forced the cancelation of the first Champions League Twenty20 tournament for provincial teams from five countries.
Shashank Manohar, India's cricket chief, said Sunday that organizers were looking for a venue outside India for the IPL's second season after the government refused to approve the tournament schedule because security forces would be occupied with the elections.
The 59-match tournament is to be held April 10 to May 24, while the elections for the lower house of India's Parliament will take place across the country in five different phases between April 16 and May 13.
Indian officials said they have begun talks with the England and Wales Cricket Board and Cricket South Africa about the possibility of one of them hosting the tournament.
IPL chairman Lalit Modi said he was hopeful of announcing the venue and final schedule Monday, and maintained that the tournament would be run in full with the same format and dates.
"It's going to be exorbitantly prohibitive to move the tournament out of the country," he said. "Logistically, it's a huge challenge. We'll have a home for each of the eight teams.
"We may not make any profit. We're not looking at the profits, but wanted the IPL played this year, and we'll ensure that the franchises suffer no losses. Even the match telecast will be at the same time for the Indian audience."
India's Interior Ministry had suggested the tournament be postponed until after the elections, but league officials did not want to change the dates because it would be difficult to find another slot in a crowded international calendar.
Earlier this month, gunmen ambushed the Sri Lankan cricket team as it traveled to a stadium in Pakistan. Seven players, an assistant coach and a match official were injured, and six policemen and a driver were killed.
Bangladesh canceled a cricket tour this month by Pakistan after authorities said they were unable to provide adequate security to a visiting team in the wake of a mutiny by border guards last month that cost the lives of more than 70 people in Dhaka.
Since it was formed last year, the IPL has transformed Indian cricket by introducing cheerleaders, major endorsements and some of the world's most highly paid players. The tournament uses the Twenty20 format, in which games can be finished within three hours compared with a full day for a regular 50-over limited-overs international or five days for a test match.
Mumbai Indians franchise owner Nita Ambani said the IPL had assured all teams that "the expenditure would be kept in mind and not to worry on that count."
"We're happy that the IPL is moving international, this will be a big boost to the fan base," she said.
Bollywood actors Shahrukh Khan and Priety Zinta, two other high-profile team owners, praised the organizers for finding a way to stage the event, which was a huge success last year.
"Being an attempt to resolve an issue, it was a great decision to be able to hold the IPL," said Khan, owner of the Kolkata Knightriders team. "We don't know the logistics yet, so can't talk about the expenditure until we hear from the IPL."
Zinta, among the owners of King's XI Punjab, said IPL organizers had little choice.
"It's a good decision to stage the tournament in a foreign country, otherwise it wouldn't have been held this year," she said.
Manor Badale, chairman of the Rajasthan Royals team that won the inaugural IPL last year, said shifting the tournament was a disappointment "given the huge anticipation and excitement that exists for the IPL in India."
"However, if the choice is no tournament or the tournament in another country, then we clearly prefer the latter."