Despite the terror threats and reports of players looking to pull out, the Indian Premier League (IPL) team owners are confident that the Twenty20 tournament, which begins in Mumbai on March 12, will not be shifted out of India this year.
The fact that it was shifted at short notice to South Africa last year has left some players hoping that will happen again following threats from terror groups like Al-Qaeda, but IPL team owners said they have no such plans.
"The fact it was moved last year has raised a level of expectation that it could be done again but it would be a lot harder to move it this time. There are a billion people desperate to see the IPL in India and it will be in India. Last year it was moved because the government could not offer full security because of the election. There was no threat level. It was very different," The Telegraph quoted one team owner, as saying, on Tuesday.
IPL champions Deccan Chargers have confirmed they will not hold anything against their players who pull out of the tournament because of security concerns.
The IPL organisers are also said to be in high-level discussions with the Indian government to guarantee each state can provide intensive close contact security from specially trained officers.
