Indian Premier League

Modi rushes to meet officials to save IPL

With the Indian Premier League plunging into uncertainty, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi and CEO Sundar Raman are expected to hold discussions with Home Ministry officials on Saturday to salvage the high-profile event.

Soon after the Home Ministry issued a statement asking the IPL organisers to re-work the dates as it was not feasible to hold matches under the existing schedule, Modi and Raman air-dashed from Mumbai to the Capital in a bid to find a way out of the imbroglio. The Home Ministry directive came after eight states, where matches in the second edition of the highly successful tournament were to be held, said that they may not be able to provide security in view of the general elections beginning April 16.

“MHA is advising the IPL organisers that it may not be feasible to hold the matches as per the revised schedule submitted by them on March seven, 2009. IPL organisers have been advised to accommodate the concerns of various state governments and draw up a revised schedule and submit the same to the MHA,” the Ministry said in a statement.

IPL sources said that Modi and Raman may meet the Home Minister P Chidambaram and other top officials to get a feedback on the security issues related to the Twenty20 extravaganza beginning April 10.

After weeks of suspense on the fate of the cash-rich Twenty20 event, the latest communication from the Ministry has put a question mark on the tournament although Modi has said they were willing to submit a new schedule.

The new development has come as a jolt for the organisers who had claimed last Tuesday that most of the states had agreed to provide security for the matches.This is the second time that the IPL organisers have been asked to submit a revised schedule.

Tags: IPL, Lalit Modi