South Africa wins to host 2009 IPL Tournament

IPL T20 Indian Premier League, India - Mar 24th, 2009
South Africa will see the biggest cricket carnival - Indian Premier League (IPL). England lost and South Africa wins to host IPL 2009 season. Matches will start from April 18th till May 24th.
This season’s Indian Premier League will take place in South Africa, with the first game on April 18.
The IPL board opted to take the tournament overseas due to concerns over security with the Indian elections taking place at the same time.
England emerged as a possible destination and came under consideration, but IPL officials opted to take the Twenty20 spectacular to South Africa - with the weather tipping the balance in favour of South Africa.
The tournament will begin on April 18, which is a delay of a week, and chairman Lalit Modi expects the competition to be a huge success.
”When I came here to see the ICC T20 World Cup in 2007 I was struck by the massive passion of the fans and the enthusiasm for the game of T20,” said Modi.
”It was the games that took place in South Africa that led to the creation and success of the Indian Premier League.
"This passion combined with first-class facilities and excellent administration means myself and my colleagues at the BCCI firmly believe the 2009 DLF Indian Premier League will be a wonderful success in South Africa.
”I would like to put on record my thanks to our franchises, media partners and sponsors for the patience they have shown in the last two weeks.
I would especially like to thank our South African partners Supersport who are dedicating 12 hours of programming.
”We have a lot more hard work ahead of us before the first match takes place on April 18, but I can assure you we will deliver a world-class event.
"We think this decision is the right one in the interests of the hundreds of millions of fans across the world.
"I know there will be a lot of disappointment the Indian Premier League is not taking place in India this year, but being in South Africa will enable our fans to watch the matches live on the TV screens in India.
”We are going to ensure the broadcast is at primetime in India at 4pm and 8pm when we have double headers.
”We would again like to thank Cricket South Africa for their generosity in just two days of us making the proposal, them accepting.”
Modi had words of thanks for The England and Wales Cricket Board who had offered to host the tournament, but claimed England was passed over on account of the weather.
“We had been in discussions with the English cricket board about the possibility of hosting the matches in the United Kingdom,” he added. “I would like to sincerely on behalf of the IPL and BCCI thank them for their tremendous support and inviting us to host the matches in the United Kingdom.
"The overwhelming reason that we chose South Africa is primarily the weather conditions.
”The weather conditions in the month of April and May in South Africa are more favourable than in the United Kingdom for hosting the matches. That was the primary reason, as both countries have excellent facilities and great heritage of cricket and both countries have been extremely supportive.”