Kalmadi calls for postponement of IPL

New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) The Indian Olympic Association
wants the Indian Premier League to be deferred till the
general elections are over as any untoward incident during the
Twenty20 cricket event could raise serious security concerns
for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.

The second edition of the IPL, starting April 10, has
come under a cloud of uncertainity in the aftermath of last
year's Mumbai terror strikes and the attack on Sri Lankan
cricketers in Lahore on March 3.

To compound problems, the IPL coincides with the general
elections and the Home Ministry has already made it clear that
it cannot provide paramilitary forces for the event during the
elections.

"IPL should be postponed till after the elections are
over because a lot of state governments have also said it is
not the right time and they need paramilitary forces which I
think the government can't give," IOA President Suresh Kalmadi
said Monday.

"So, if there is a severe incident during the IPL
matches, I think it will have repercussions on the
Commonwealth Games itself," he added.

He, however, rubbished claims that the Delhi Games was in
jeopardy following the security concerns raised by
participating nations after the Lahore incident, saying the
security arrangement for the event would be a very tight.

"We had many meetings with the Lieutenant Governor of
Delhi, who is responsible for security and the Secretary of
the Home Ministry. With every incident, our security has been
upgraded," Kalmadi said.

Kalmadi's statement came close on the heels of Australian
Commonwealth Games Association Chief Executive Perry
Crosswhite's remark that his nation could pull out of the
event if security was not addressed properly.

However, the IOA President said the organisers have
learnt useful lessons from both the unfortunate incident and
will leave no stone unturned in the security of the athletes.

"The Lt. Governor was in Beijing to study the security of
the Olympics. A fortnight back, the security official of the
Commonwealth Games visited New Delhi and gave us his feedback.
He will be visiting every six months and we would work on his
feedback," Kalmadi told espnstar.com.

"We also went to Singapore to talk with a few security
companies," he added.

Although, the construction of infrastructure for the
Games are running behind schedule, Kalmadi assured that the
work would be completed by the due date of December 31,
2009 except the velodrome, which would be completed by March.

The IOA chief also ruled out the introduction of cricket
in the Commonwealth Games. PTI SSC
DEP