Kalmadi calls for postponement of IPL

The Indian Olympic Association wants the IPL to be deferred till the general elections are over as any untoward incident during the T20 cricket event could raise serious security concerns for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.

The Indian Olympic Association wants the Indian Premier League to be deferred till the general elections are over as any untoward incident during the Twenty20 cricket event could raise serious security concerns for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.

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The second edition of the IPL, starting April 10, has come under a cloud of uncertainity in the aftermath of last year's Mumbai terror strikes and the attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore on March 3.

To compound problems, the IPL coincides with the general elections and the Home Ministry has already made it clear that it cannot provide paramilitary forces for the event during the elections.

"IPL should be postponed till after the elections are over because a lot of state governments have also said it is not the right time and they need paramilitary forces which I think the government can't give," IOA President Suresh Kalmadi said on Monday.

"So, if there is a severe incident during the IPL matches, I think it will have repercussions on the Commonwealth Games itself," he added.

He, however, rubbished claims that the Delhi Games was in jeopardy following the security concerns raised by participating nations after the Lahore incident, saying the security arrangement for the event would be a very tight.