IPL II in jeopardy again

The Indian Premier League was dealt a severe blow on Friday after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) rejected the tournament’s revised schedule saying most states had security concerns. "IPL organisers have been advised to accommodate the concerns of the various state governments and draw up a revised schedule and submit them to the MHA," the Home Ministry said.

The Indian Premier League was dealt a severe blow on Friday after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) rejected the tournament’s revised schedule saying most states had security concerns.

"IPL organisers have been advised to accommodate the concerns of the various state governments and draw up a revised schedule and submit them to the MHA," the Home Ministry said in a statement drafted after Union Home Minister P Chidambaram reviewed the states’ responses at a meeting on Friday morning.

Of the 60 proposed match dates, states reported they could provide their own security for only 15. Delhi and Andhra Pradesh expressed their inability to provide security during the election period. Others like Rajasthan wanted help from the centre. The MHA, however, did not say if it was ready to assist the states with paramilitary forces.

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The MHA’s demand for new dates threw the IPL organisers in a tizzy, with IPL chairman Lalit Modi rushing to the Capital to meet ministry officials. “The IPL had come up with the revised schedule after taking all factors into consideration.

This isn’t how we had imagined the government would react,” a member of the IPL Governing Council told the Hindustan Times.

Asked what this decision will mean for the IPL’s future, he said: “We will have to find a way out — more matches in one day and more frequent use of certain venues perhaps.”

With polling scheduled from April 16 to May 13, IPL organisers may be forced to stage the bulk of the matches towards the later stages of polling.