Cricket’s lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) is shopping for bullet-proof buses and cars to protect its star players even as the fate of the tournament remained uncertain yesterday.
The Times of India said a South African private security firm hired by the multimillion dollar Twenty20 league had approached a local company to buy 16 special buses and 64 armored SUVs — worth roughly US$3.1 million in all.
The scramble for additional protection came last week in the wake of the deadly attack against the Sri Lankan team in Pakistan on March 3, which killed eight Pakistanis and injured seven players.
The report comes as the IPL remained embroiled in a row with the Indian government over security. Less than a month before the scheduled opening on April 10, the home ministry has still not cleared the tournament because it clashes with parliamentary elections.
The IPL is due to be held from April 10 to May 24, while the elections take place across the country in five phases from April 16 to May 13, with counting of votes on May 16.
The government wants the 59-match schedule to be adjusted so that states hosting games do not have to pull out security forces on election duty to guard the tournament.
Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram said yesterday that the elections were “unquestionably” first priority for the government.
Asked if the IPL should be called off if the dates were not sorted out, Chidambaram said the decision lay with the organizers.
“I think the organisers are responsible people. I think they are patriotic Indians. I think they will take a call,” Chidambaram told the CNN-IBN news channel in an interview to be aired tomorrow.
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