Bangalore IPL team owner Vijay Mallya said he would have preferred England to host the second Indian Premier League but had no issue with South Africa, the new venue of the Twenty20 event, either.
Mallya said travelling to South Africa would be difficult and costlier than England but with five Proteas in the team he owns, he was fine with the selection of venues.
"To be honest, I would have preferred England to South Africa. You could have taken one good flight from 5-6 places in India to England and it would have been cheaper. Besides, an average Englishman loves his cricket. The stands there would have been full of crowd," Mallya said.
"I guess weather conditions clinches the issue for South Africa. In England, there were chances that matches would have been rained off. Both teams sharing the point affects the competitiveness of the event. So though travelling to South Africa would be more difficult and costlier, I think there are a lot of Indians there, especially in Durban.
"Besides, I have five South Africans in my team and I hope the people there too come out and support," he quipped.
{{/usCountry}}"Besides, I have five South Africans in my team and I hope the people there too come out and support," he quipped.
{{/usCountry}}Mallya felt, apart from the weather, South Africa aggressively pursued the case which sealed the issue in their favour.
"Cricket South Africa was very aggressive and I understand the South African government also stepped in," he said.