IPL Told to Think Again After Revised Schedule is Rejected

Next month's Indian Premier League is still racked with uncertainty after the Indian government rejected the revised schedule submitted by IPL organisers because of ongoing security doubts.

The clash of dates between the IPL and India's national elections has caused the ministry of home affairs to request further itinerary changes after representatives of several Indian states insisted that they could not satisfy security requirements.

"Rationally we are looking at reworking a new schedule," admitted Dhiraj Malhotra, the IPL tournament director. Further discussions are expected this weekend.

A further delay will only increase tension among non-Indian players, such as the high-profile England pair Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, that the IPL can take place with all their safety concerns answered. They will be particularly concerned about whether cricket security would automatically be reduced if it had to be shifted to election trouble spots.

The IPL still looks likely to go ahead – and go ahead with a full contingent of players – largely because of the public outcry that would descend if it was canceled because of terrorism fears following the attack on the Sri Lanka team, and match officials, during the Lahore Test.

The survival of the IPL has become a matter of Indian pride. The Times of India has even been moved to inquire in an editorial which of the two IPLs the country would vote for if it came for the crunch – the Indian political elections or the Indian Premier League.

Delhi is among those most reluctant to stage IPL matches under the current schedule, requesting that the matches be rescheduled after the 7 May elections. Karnataka has said that it is unable to provide adequate security for two of the six matches on the rejected schedule.

Other states are engaged in a bartering deal with the government about where the security comes from. Maharashtra has insisted upon paramilitary forces supplied by central government to complement their own forces, while Punjab and West Bengal have warned that they can only provide security for the matches if they do not have to provide any officers for election security.

India's home ministry held a 90-minute video conference between the home secretary, Madhukar Gupta, and state officials. The IPL, desperate to maintain the original dates of 10 April to 24 May, had offered a minimum gap of 48 hours before and after the election at every venue.

A home ministry statement insisted that every state must accept some responsibility for security, saying: "It is not possible to exempt any state from its promise to release state police personnel for election duties because these have been taken into account in arriving at the overall availability of security personnel."