England Favourite To Host Second IPL Tournament

England has emerged as the likely host of the Indian Premier League after it was announced that the second staging of the lucrative annual tournament cannot be held in India due to security concerns.

The schedule clash of the event with the Indian national elections has meant that the organisers have been unable to guarantee the required levels of security forcing them to consider moving the tournament overseas due to government pressure.

The IPL and the England and Wales Cricket Board have held initial discussions about the possibility of moving the event to England although no formal decision has been made.

South Africa is the other possibility but their board is not optimistic, believing England is the preferred choice for the Twenty20 tournament.

IPL commissioner Lalit Modi revealed a decision is likely to be made early this week: ‘I don’t think we will have a decision until late on Monday because we need to go through every detail.’

Modi said it would be a difficult choice and it would simply come down to who was best suited to host the tournament, which is set to run from 10th April until 24th May.

There are logistical complications arising from the tournament being held in the UK as England play three Tests and five one-day internationals against the West Indies between 21st April and 26th May, which is then followed by the ICC World Twenty20 from 1st June.

Security in the sub-continent has become a major issue in the wake of the bombings in Mumbai last year and the recent terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team during their tour of Pakistan.