Published on 12:00 AM, February 14, 2014

IPL matches here still a possibility

IPL matches here still a possibility

Could Bangladesh be the venue of the seventh edition of the high-profile Indian Premier League or at least some matches of the tournament?
Bangladesh, along with the UAE, is being speculated to be one of the venues by the organisers of the competition due to security concerns posed by upcoming Indian parliamentary elections, the dates of which are clashing with the event.
The IPL authorities will be meeting Indian home ministry officials next week and a final decision on the venue and the exact schedule is expected to be taken in the coming 10 days. The federal elections are scheduled to be held in April-May.
"We are considering so many options with regards to the venue. We are waiting first for the home ministry to check the possible dates," Sanjay Patel, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, told the media after the IPL governing council meeting on Thursday. "As far as possible our interest is to hold the IPL in India. Then, probably, South Africa is the preferred venue at the moment. The second option is also there and the third option is also there."
Officials, however, stopped short of naming the second and third options which are speculated to be Bangladesh and the UAE.
"What we are asking for is we need a window from April 9 to June 3. We will be speaking to the government officials in the home ministry. We want to hold maximum number of matches in India and if we get the green signal, probably we can hold all the matches in India," he said.
The IPL had been shifted to South Africa in 2009 as well because of security concerns posed by general elections.
Patel stated that the IPL had kept all the eight franchises in the loop. This was also confirmed by the franchises, who said they had countered the possibility of some matches being held abroad while assembling their squads.