| MUMBAI:
South Africa and not England will be the Indian Premier League's (IPL) temporary
home, scoring over on weather, operational costs and security issues. The
IPL will also have a new inaugural date. The Twenty20 tournament kicks off on
18 April, but the end date will remain 24 May. There will be no change in the
number of matches which will be played over six venues. The
59 matches spread over 36 days will be broadcast in India at 4 pm and 8 pm, adjusting
to the prime time television viewing audiences. "A
lot of factors were considered by us while evaluating the final choice for the
host venue. However, in the final analysis I think it was the South African weather,
which prevailed and tilted the balance in favour of the Rainbow Nation,"
said BCCI secretary N Srinivasan. South
Africa, host to the first Twenty20 World Cup in which India won, evidently made
a more sweetened offer than the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). A lower
cost for running the tournament, hotel and ground discounts, priority visa processing
and weather conditions are factors that swung the game the South Africa way. "Weather
is a problem," IPL commissioner Lalit Modi was quoted as saying. "There
is 70 per cent chance of the games being disrupted by rain. The IPL will also
be clashing with the London marathon and a number of Test matches, which will
be blocking hotel rooms." During
the IPL season 2, England would be engaged in a home series against the West Indies
and the county games would also be on. South Africa, on the other hand, would
have just finished their domestic event. The
TV telecast rights would also have been a complex issue. While Sky holds the exclusive
rights for England internationals in Britain, the IPL rights broadcaster is Setanta.
In case of South Africa both the rights rest with broadcaster Supersport. Royal
Challengers, the Bangalore franchise owned by Dr Vijay Mallya, has four South
African players, the largest among the eight teams, followed by Rajasthan Royals
with three. Though
disappointed at not having India as the venue, the team franchises are happy that
the IPL show would be on this year with a possible 177 hours of live family entertainment,
prime time content. | 
