IPL 2nd edition to be played outside India

MUMBAI: Due to general elections and security fears, the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be played outside India and England is likely to host the event.

President Indian cricket board Shashank Manohar has said that due to the attitude of the Indian government that it cannot provide security for the tournament, they were forced to take a decision to move the IPL out of India.

An emergency meeting of the working committee of the Indian cricket board was held in Mumbai in which baord president Shashank Manohar and other high officials were present and they decided in the meeting to shift the tournament abroad. Venues and dates of the event will be announced in the next 24 hours.

Sources said that the tournament would be held in England.

The Indian board apologised to the people of India for moving the tournament and blamed the Indian government for this decision and said India''s cricket board was not left with any other option.

IPL commissioner Lalit Modi while talking with media said that no change would be made in the format of the tournament.

He said that the Pakistani players cannot take part in the tournament despite its shifting abroad as the teams were announced a month earlier.

The Indian government declined to release security forces needed to guard the tournament because of the five-phase parliamentary elections that will take place from April 16 to May 13.