Government wants more changes in IPL schedule

The Indian government has asked the IPL to revise its tournament dates once again. The government wants the IPL to rework the revised schedule after consulting the states in which the matches are to be held. BCCI sources said discussions have already been initiated at the state level in this regard.

"We told them it will not be possible to provide central paramilitary forces for the IPL because of the elections," home ministry spokesman Onkarmal Kedia said. "We want them to draw up a schedule after consulting state governments on the dates when they can provide security. The ministry will take a decision after receiving a new schedule."

N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary, told reporters in New Delhi after a one-and-a-half hour meeting that home ministry officials had explained their concerns about the dates in detail. "We have also expressed our difficulties and our own concerns," Srinivasan said.

Some of the IPL's options are to have a packed schedule - with up to three matches in a day - and shorten the tournament, and/or restrict the matches to states that are willing to provide security for them.

"Restricting the matches to just a few states would mean that the IPL will lose its home-and-away flavour," a top BCCI official said. "For instance, holding matches in West Bengal (Kolkata) look very difficult going by the state's response. In such a case, we can move many of Kolkata Knight Riders' matches to Cuttack (in the neighbouring Orissa state). But the thinking is that the tournament has to be held in April-May."

The IPL had submitted a revised schedule to the Indian government last week after P Chidambaram, India's home minister, said security would be provided for matches though the dates would have to be reworked to avoid a direct clash with general elections in the country. However, the revised dates were not accepted by various states where the IPL would be played in, including Delhi, West Bengal, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Karnataka's Bangalore police declined to provide security cover for the IPL until May 3 and advised the tournament organisers to not host games in the city until after May 4. "Bangalore city police will not be in a position to give security for IPL matches until May 3 in view of our commitments regarding Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka on April 23 and April 30," police commissioner Shankar Bidari said. Bidari said security could be provided if games were played on May 4, 7, 10, 11, 14, 19 and 20.

The Andhra Pradesh police, meanwhile, agreed to provide security for matches after April 26, three days after polling ends in the state. "We have studied the revised schedule submitted by the IPL organisers and accordingly informed them that there is no objection to the conduct of matches after April 26," AK Khan, the state's director general of police (law and order), told PTI. "However, matches will not be possible for four days from May 14 when the police will be busy with duties for counting of votes on May 16."