No question of truncating IPL, says Lalit Modi

The schedule for the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Twenty20 format cricket tournament organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), will not be cut short, according to IPL Commissioner and BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi.

The board is expected to announce the revised schedule tomorrow after a final meeting of its working committee. Originally, the 45-day tournament was to be played from April 10 to May 24 across eight venues.

About Rs 1,800 crore are riding on IPL, including revenues from broadcast rights, advertisements, sponsorships and player fees.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting of top BCCI officials in Mumbai today, Modi said: “Why do you keep speaking of IPL being truncated? There is no question of a shorter version. We have many options for venues. We are working to come out with the final schedule.”

So far, the schedule for IPL matches has changed three times after the home ministry expressed security concerns since the general election dates overlap with IPL.

Modi said BCCI had worked out a number of back-up options for IPL in case the government rejected the new schedule. “We have back-up after back-up after back-up.”

IPL has been under a cloud since March 3, when terrorists attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore. The home ministry expressed inability to provide central para-military forces for IPL since it had already pledged a large chunk of the forces to the Election Commission for the general elections starting April 16.

Rajasthan Royals, Bajaj Allianz bury the hatchet

Rajasthan Royals, Indian Premier League’s Jaipur franchisee, and one of its sponsors, Bajaj Allianz, have agreed to part ways and withdraw the court cases in Delhi and Mumbai, according to a joint press release.

Their agreement, signed last year, was performance-based and entailed structured payments linked to the team’s progress. After the team won the first season, Rajasthan Royals made a revised proposal to Bajaj Allianz, which led to differences between the two, and triggered court cases.