TV deal stops Oval IPL game

Surrey's hopes of staging the first match between IPL teams in the UK has been scuppered because of the ECB's broadcast deal.

Manoj Badale, the owner of the Rajasthan Royals, had hoped to bring Shane Warne's team and the Kolkata Knight Riders to the The Oval on July 15 and 16, but two televised Pro40 matches mean Sky wouldn't be able to cover the games. The TV cameras will be showing matches from Worcester and Chelmsford and the contract means they can't be dropped.

"We have an arrangement with the ECB to run charity matches and part of our mission is to fill up the Oval," Paul Sheldon, the Surrey chief executive, told The Times. "We have tried very hard to put the match on and are disappointed that there is no prospect of broadcasting rights, but we quite understand the contractual situation between the ECB and Sky."