IPL submits revised schedule to Home Ministry

In a desperate bid to save the Indian Premier League's second edition, its organizers have sent a revised schedule of the high-profile event to the Home Ministry, which will now decide whether security can be arranged for the Twenty20 tournament.

The tournament has come under a cloud of uncertainty in the wake of the deadly terror attack on sri lankan team in Lahore and general elections in India, which coincide with the league that starts April 10.

After a series of meetings, the IPL organisers have re-drawn the tournament's schedule, taking care that no matches are held on polling days in cities hosting the games.

"We have taken care to ensure that host cities are not allotted a match two days before and after the polling day. We have submitted the schedule to the Home Ministry. It is up to them now to advice us," a top IPL source said.
"We will have a meeting if they call us to seek certain clarifications or for any other matter," he added.

The organisers are not in favour of postponing the tournament as it may lead to massive financial losses for the franchise owners as well the tournament itself.

The Home Ministry has made it clear that providing security for the league during the time of the general elections will be difficult, due to shortage of paramilitary forces and the time it is likely to take to deploy them for election duty.

IPL bosses battled to save their multi-million-dollar tournament

Indian Premier League bosses battled to save their multi-million-dollar tournament Wednesday after a government call for it to be postponed for security reasons.

In the wake of Tuesday's deadly assault on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan, questions are also being asked about whether the top world players signed up by the IPL will be prepared to play in South Asia.

The Mumbai siege in late November dealt a massive blow to India's security image, and fears over safety across the region will have been exacerbated by the gun and grenade attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore.

Home minister P. Chidambaram said Tuesday said he would be "stretched" to provide adequate security to the popular Twenty20 tournament, as it clashes with general elections in April and May.

"Since the election dates are unalterable, I have asked to find out if the dates of the IPL can be rescheduled," Chidambaram told reporters.

"I would be happy if the tournament starts when the bulk of the polls is over."The IPL is due to be played across 10 cities in India from April 10 to May 24. The parliamentary elections will be held in five phases between April 16 and May 13.

Chidambaram's comments came hours after the attack on the Sri Lankan team which injured seven players and an assistant coach and killed eight Pakistanis -- six of them policemen escorting their convoy to the stadium.

IPL officials insisted the tournament will not be postponed, citing a lack of alternative dates in an already crowded calendar, but agreed to adjustments so matches do not clash with voting in a particular city."There is no chance of postponing the IPL," tournament commissioner Lalit Modi told Indian media.

"We have taken into account government sensibilities, but I am sure even the Home Minister would not want the whole country to come to a standstill during the elections."Home ministry officials are expected to meet IPL bosses over the next few days to resolve the matter, although reports say the government is determined to see the 59-match tournament postponed.
There are also concerns on whether international players will be willing to set foot on the sub-continent following the Lahore attack.

The biggest draw this year would be the first IPL appearance for England stars Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, who were signed for a record 1.55 million dollars each per year.

The Mumbai attacks last November has already forced the postponement by a year of the IPL-backed Champions League, featuring the top Twenty20 teams from Australia, South Africa, England, Pakistan and India.

"If I were one of the England guys who signed up for the Indian Premier League, I would be concerned," former England coach Duncan Fletcher wrote in the Guardian newspaper.

"The attacks in Mumbai called into question even the safety of the best hotels. What cricketer is going to start thinking about runs and wickets when there are these more serious matters to consider?"Former England captain Mike Atherton, however, told The Times he hoped the IPL would go ahead.

"If cricket in India takes a blow, then it's almost the end of cricket as a truly international sport -- it becomes an enclave of a few countries here and there."It's vitally important it continues to be played on the sub-continent."

Although IPL officials insist that international players will turn up, one official from a top team conceded the tournament could not go ahead without the support of the government and its security agencies."No one wants to take a chance in these difficult times," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. "One mad person could ruin everything."

Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who was contracted with Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan's Kolkata Knightriders, has already pulled out of this year's IPL, citing commitments for his country.

Six Lankan cricket players injured in firing in Lahore

Six Sri Lankan cricketers and their assistant coach were injured while their security guards were among eight people killed in the first ever terror strike in the history of the sport, forcing Colombo to immediately call off the tour.Wicket-keeper batsman Kumar Sangakkara and spinner Ajantha Mendis along with Samaraweera, Tharanga Paranavitana, Suranga Lakmal and Thilina Thushara were injured in the attack at the busy Liberty Chowk traffic roundabout, located less than a kilometre from Gaddafi Stadium, at 9 am.

Assistant coach Paul Farbrace also sustained minor injuries in the brazen attack, carried out by a dozen masked terrorists armed with rifles, grenades and rocket-launchers.
The gunmen ambushed the luxury bus ferrying Sri Lankan cricket team to Gaddafi Stadium to resume play on the third day of the second and final test match with Pakistan.
Eight people, most of them police guards accompanying the team, were killed during the nearly 30-minute exchange of fire.

The Sri Lankan team was airlifted from Gaddafi Stadium to the Lahore airport by a Pakistan Air Force helicopter on their way back home to Colombo.
Injured players Samaraweera and Paranavitana, who received bullet injuries, were rushed to the military hospital. They are out of danger and stable, said Chamara Ranavira, a Sri Lankan High Commission spokesman said.

TV footage showed gunmen with backpacks firing at the convoy as they fled from the scene, with several vehicles damaged and unexploded grenades lying around. None of the attackers were killed or captured, Lahore police chief Haji Habibur Rehman said.

"Most of us had small injuries while some suffered shrapnel wounds," Sangakkara said, adding, "All are fine now." "At the moment we are not thinking of anything else but going back home."
There were conflicting reports about captain Mahela Jayawardene being injured in the terror ambush.Sri lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who has cut short his visit to Nepal, condemned the attack and rushed his Foreign Minister Rohita Bogollagama to Pakistan to assist in the team's safe return to Colombo.

Reports said reserve umpire Ahsan Raza, who was travelling in a separate car, was seriously injured and had been operated on in a local hospital. Hours after the ambush, authorities defused two car bombs before they could explode and recovered a cache of weapons in Lahore.

The Pakistani team was in its hotel at the time of the incident. Officials immediately took steps to prevent it from leaving the hotel.

Sri Lanka had agreed to play in Pakistan after India and Australia deferred their scheduled trips for security reasons. After playing three one-dayers in Pakistan, the Sri Lankan team had proceeded to India for five one-day matches and returned to Lahore for the two test matches.
"What has happened today in cricket can never happen in sports anywhere in the world. Obviously, my sympathies are with the Sri Lankan team," said former Pakistani captain Javed Miandad.

The Sri Lankan team called off its tour after the attack.

IPL 2009 Schedule

Date	Match	Venue	Time (IST)
April 10	Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils	Jaipur	8pm
April 11	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers	Kolkata	4pm
April 11	Chennai Super Kings vs Bangalore Royal Challengers	Chennai	8pm
April 12	Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab	Delhi	4pm
April 12	Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals	Mumbai	8pm
April 13	Deccan Chargers vs Chennai Super Kings	Hyderabad	8pm
April 14	Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Bangalore	8pm
April 15	Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians	Mohali	8pm
April 16	Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils	Hyderabad	4pm
April 16	Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals	Chennai	8pm
April 17	Mumbai Indians vs Bangalore Royal Challengers	Mumbai	8pm
April 18	Kings XI Punjab vs Deccan Chargers	Mohali	4pm
April 18	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Daredevils	Kolkata	8pm
April 19	Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Rajasthan Royals	Bangalore	4pm
April 19	Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings	Mumbai	8pm
April 20	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab	Kolkata	8pm
April 21	Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians	Delhi	8pm
April 22	Rajasthan Royals vs Deccan Chargers	Jaipur	8pm
April 23	Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Kings XI Punjab	Bangalore	8pm
April 24	Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Mumbai	8pm
April 25	Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab	Chennai	4pm
April 25	Delhi Daredevils vs Bangalore Royal Challengers	Delhi	8pm
April 26	Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians	Vizag	4pm
April 26	Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Jaipur	8pm
April 27	Kings XI Punjab vs Bangalore Royal Challengers	Mohali	8pm
April 28	Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Daredevils	Mumbai	8pm
April 29	Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Chennai	4pm
April 29	Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals	Mohali	8pm
April 30	Deccan Chargers vs Bangalore Royal Challengers	Vizag	8pm
May 1	Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils	Chennai	8pm
May 2	Mumbai Indians vs Deccan Chargers	Mumbai	4pm
May 2	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals	Kolkata	8pm
May 3	Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Delhi Daredevils	Bangalore	4pm
May 3	Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings	Mohali	8pm
May 4	Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals	Hyderabad	8pm
May 5	Delhi Daredevils vs Chennai Super Kings	Delhi	8pm
May 6	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians	Kolkata	4pm
May 6	Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab	Jaipur	8pm
May 7	Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Deccan Chargers	Bangalore	8pm
May 8	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings	Kolkata	8pm
May 9	Kings XI Punjab vs Delhi Daredevils	Mohali	4pm
May 9	Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians	Jaipur	8pm
May 10	Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Hyderabad	8pm
May 11	Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals	Delhi	8pm
May 12	Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab	Mumbai	4pm
May 12	Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers	Chennai	8pm
May 13	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Bangalore Royal Challengers	Kolkata	8pm
May 14	Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings	Jaipur	4pm
May 14	Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers	Delhi	8pm
May 15	Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Mumbai Indians	Bangalore	8pm
May 16	Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Delhi	4pm
May 16	Deccan Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab	Hyderabad	8pm
May 17	Rajasthan Royals vs Bangalore Royal Challengers	Jaipur	4pm
May 17	Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians	Chennai	8pm
May 18	Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Mohali	8pm
May 19	Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Chennai Super Kings	Bangalore	8pm
May 21	Semi-Final 1	Chennai	8pm
May 22	Semi-Final 2	Chennai	8pm
May 24	FINAL	Mumbai	8pm