England would be a "very attractive" venue for the 2009 IPL, according to tournament chief Lalit Modi.
Twenty20 league closing in on new venue
England and Wales have emerged as the favourites to host the 2009 Indian Premier League after Cricket South Africa chief Gerald Majola revealed he does not believe his country is the preferred choice of tournament organisers.
IPL organisers
announced on Sunday that the second edition of the Twenty20 competition would be held abroad as security in India could not be guaranteed because of a clash with the country's general elections.
Tournament commissioner Lalit Modi is believed to be arriving in London on Monday for talks with the England and Wales Cricket Board about the possibility of fitting the event around the domestic season.
England and South Africa are the main contenders to stage the tournament, but the former is thought to be favoured by IPL officials.
"England is a very attractive venue," Modi told
The Daily Telegraph. "It is easy to access from India and there is a large Asian community to tap into."
Options
CSA chief executive Majola is "not optimistic" the IPL will take place in South Africa.
He told
Talk Radio 702 on Monday: "All that's happened so far is that we've received an invitation, an approach in fact, from the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) to be a possible option for their IPL because they took a decision yesterday to move away from India.
"All we know so far is that we're just one of the options. From my gathering so far, nothing has happened since then - they are supposed to come back to us today, but the day has just started so hopefully they will get back at some point.
"But I must say from my side, I'm not that optimistic. The real reason I say so is the timing. I've worked with the Indians for eight years now.
"A decision has to be taken shortly. So I suspect they would be speaking to maybe their preferred choice and I think South Africa is just a standby to whoever their choice is.
"So I think a decision has to be made by tomorrow (at the) latest and we should know soon where this is going."
Logistics
ECB chief executive David Collier is returning home from England's tour of the Caribbean in order to
meet IPL officials in London on Wednesday or Thursday.
It has already been confirmed the original schedule - 59 matches over 45 days between April 10 and May 24 - will be retained, with one fixture each day and two each Sunday.
The ECB have also made it clear they will not disrupt their domestic or international programme - meaning the grounds available will inevitably be limited.
There may also be issues surrounding broadcasting rights, as well as the logistics of accommodating eight teams, who would reportedly require around 400 hotel rooms per night.
But Modi feels the arrangement could be beneficial for all parties.
"The IPL is a big competition," he said. "We would bring around US dollars 100 million of revenue to the British economy and anybody in a recession would want to have us."
