IPL to be played outside India

The second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will not be held in India. At the BCCI working committee meeting today in Mumbai, a decison was taken to stage the tournament outside the country "because of the extraordinary situation existing this year."

"Under the given circumstances, the BCCI is not in a position to either play a truncated IPL or to cancel the second edition of the IPL. It is a matter of great regret that, in the prevailing atmosphere, where the government is expressing concern for providing security to the IPL matches, the BCCI is left with no other option but to conduct the Indian Premier League in another country," the board stated in a media release.

England and South Africa have emerged as the frontrunners to host the event, an IPL official said. Discussions between the BCCI and the respective boards will get underway and a decison is likely in two to three days.

Gerald Majola, Cricket South Africa's chief executive, said that he has been approached by the Indian board and that South Africa were ready to host the tournament if needed. "South Africa were officially approached today by the IPL officials, asking us whether we can host the event," Majola told Cricinfo. "We are looking at their requirements to see whether we can fulfill them. As I understand, we are one of the parties that they have approached, but for now we can say that we are ready to host the IPL. However, we expect to meet the officials soon to understand the situation better."

Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, who was present at the working commitee meeting said there will be no changes made to the tournament's format or the schedule. "All 59 games will happen as per schedule, with the first game to be played at 4:00 pm IST and the second game beginning at 8:00 pm IST," he said. An official announcement is expected soon.

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