IPL moves to South Africa

IPL decides to fly to South Africa!

South Africa will stage the 2009 Indian Premier League after officials decided to move the Twenty20 tournament to a neutral venue because of security fears.

The decision was made after a meeting between the IPL commissioner, Lalit Modi, and the Cricket South Africa (CSA) chief executive, Gerald Majola, in Johannesburg on Tuesday. IPL also announced that a final schedule for the 59 matches and the host venues for the eight franchises will be released shortly.

“The South African public loves Twent20 cricket and CSA successfully hosted the inaugural World Twenty20,” Modi said in a press release issued by CSA. “Both these factors weighed heavily in South Africa’s favour, and we look forward to a successful and exciting tournament being held at venues throughout South Africa.”

Majola said: “CSA is delighted to accept the invitation from Mr Modi to host the 2009 DFL Indian Premier League tournament.

“This is a great compliment to both CSA and our nation to be shown this confidence in our ability to hold one of the world’s top sporting events at short notice.

“The organisers can be assured that they have the full support of our CSA’s structures and the South African public to stage a successful tournament.

“This event will strengthen the ties even further between South African and Indian cricket, as well as binding our nations even closer together.

“We are looking forward to hosting some of the world’s best cricketers, and we can assure them they will be provided with the very best facilities to show their skills.

“Once again, our thanks go to Mr Modi and his team for choosing South Africa and we will do the IPL proud.”