New Delhi - India's cricket board is looking at rescheduling matches for the Indian Premier League Twenty20 championship after the attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Pakistan and a clash with dates for general elections in India, news reports said on Thursday. General elections are scheduled to be held in India in five phases from April 16 to May 13.
The IPL matches, with several international players participating, were earlier scheduled to be held in major Indian cities between April 10 and May 24.
Given the new threat perception for cricketers in South Asia after the attack in Pakistan on Tuesday, India's federal Home Minister P Chidambaram had said he would prefer the IPL to be postponed until after the elections which require a massive deployment of security forces.
Several state governments had also expressed concern saying they may not be able to provide adequate security for players and match venues due to the elections.
Some international players have also reportedly expressed concern about playing matches and have been enquiring about security arrangements, the PTI news agency reported.
The second edition of the IPL was to be played in Jaipur, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Delhi and two more locations which are yet to be decided.
Several of the cities have seen terrorist attacks in the past year.
The organizers of the IPL are not in favour of postponement as it may entail massive financial losses.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has prepared a new schedule where matches would not be held on election days and two days prior and after, PTI said, citing BCCI officials.
Officials of the cricket board and the Home Ministry will take a decision on the IPL dates after discussions with host states and the Election Commission, the independent body which supervises elections in India.
