Question Mark Over IPL Following Terrorist Attack

Security concerns are placing a major question mark over the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) in the wake of the terrorist attacks against the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan this week.

A number of leading bodies have voiced their view that the IPL should not go ahead given the highly volatile situation at present in the sub-continent.

The fact that the tournament, which is scheduled to begin on 10th April, is also taking place at the same time as the Indian national elections is prompting concerns that the heightened security required for both events will be impossible to manage.

India’s home minister P Chidambaram has already asked for the tournament to be postponed while the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations has already written to the IPL to seek assurances about security levels for its members.

The English players, including Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff who are set to compete in the lucrative IPL for the first time, are also set to speak with chief executive of the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) Sean Morris about the potential risks of playing in India.

Although the contract between the England and Wales Cricket Board and the IPL only allows them to play the first three weeks of the tournament, Flintoff and Pietersen were the highest valued players in the IPL auction last month both fetching £1.1m.

IPL chairman Lalit Modi reassured players their security would not be compromised.

He said: ‘We will leave no stone unturned to provide our cricketers, fans and stakeholders alike the best security arrangements.’

The attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore follows in the footsteps of India’s financial capital Mumbai being the target of series of calculated terrorist attacks in November 2008, when 170 people were killed.

With many national cricket teams already refusing to tour Pakistan, there are now major question marks over whether international cricket can take place in the sub-continent at all. Pakistan was scheduled to host the ICC Champions Trophy later this year while the 2011 Cricket World Cup is due to be hosted jointly by Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Both these tournaments as well as future international Test series between Pakistan and other countries now look likely to be moved to other venues.