| MUMBAI:
Former BCCI president Sharad Pawar, along with the current president Shashank
Manohar, met Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray at his residence yesterday in order
to ensure that the third edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) goes on without
a hitch.
The
issue was over the Shiv Sena protesting the decision of the IPL to allow Australian
players to take part in the event. The political party is protesting the continuous
attacks on Indian students down under. The
Shiv Sena is expected to take a final decision on the issue in two to three days.
According to the Shive Sena's paper Saamna, Thackeray told Pawar that the
country was more important than the game. Meanwhile
on his Twitter account, IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi says that the
last day for teams to submit their final squads is 12 February. The squads have
to consist of at least 16 players. In order to spread the reach of the event in
the UK and the Middle East, he has asked fans who stay there to email him the
names of theatres near them that show Hindi movies. The aim is to get those theatres
to show IPL matches live. Modi
also says that he will try to have some IPL matches aired in cinema halls in the
US. | 
