The Indian Premier League (IPL) suffered a fresh setback on Friday when the government refused to accept the revised schedule submitted by the organizers on security grounds, throwing the event into doubt.
The IPL’s second season is scheduled to be held April 10 to May 24, however nationwide parliamentary elections take place April 16 to May 13 in five phases, meaning the two events clash.
IPL organizers had submitted a new fixture schedule avoiding games taking place on the same day as voting so that police and state security personnel would not have to try and cope with both events on the same day.
PHOTO: AFP
In light of the attacks in Mumbai in November and on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan earlier this month, fears have been expressed that the IPL may also be a target for militants.
But the government on Friday rejected the new fixture schedule, with the tournament due to begin in less than a month.
State police chiefs told a high-level meeting chaired by Home Minister P. Chidambaram it would be difficult to provide adequate security for the IPL because police need to be continually on standby during election time.
“IPL organizers have been advised to accommodate the concerns of various state governments and draw up a revised schedule and submit the same to the ministry,” Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta said in a statement.
The world’s top cricketers, including newly recruited England stars Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, are due to take part in the multimillion-dollar Twenty20 tournament across the country.
“A new schedule will be announced soon,” IPL commissioner Lalit Modi told the CNN-IBN news channel.
However, another rejection by the government is almost certain to lead to the tournament’s cancelation this year since there is no other window for the six-week event in an overcrowded international cricket calendar.
The tournament cannot go beyond May 24 because players need time to prepare for the world Twenty20 championships starting in England on June 5.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
MILWAUKEE PREVAIL: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points as the Bucks withstood Nikola Jokic’s 27th triple-double of the season to beat the Nuggets Golden State star Stephen Curry on Thursday drilled 12 three-pointers in a scintillating 56-point display that carried the Warriors to a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. Curry’s explosive performance helped the Warriors dig themselves out of a 17-point hole, with the point guard signaling the start of the fightback with a three-pointer from beyond the half-court line to end the first half that pulled the Warriors within 66-52 at the break. In the third quarter, he single-handedly outscored the Magic with 22 points to Orlando’s 21. The four-time NBA champion finished two three-pointers shy of former teammate Klay Thompson’s record for most
RSS