South Africa has been confirmed as the new host of the 2009 Indian Premier League.
England miss out due to concerns over weather
South Africa has been confirmed as the new host of the 2009 Indian Premier League.
IPL chairman Lalit Modi and Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola had met on Tuesday in Johannesburg to discuss the six-week Twenty20 event.
England were also in the running and Modi was scheduled to fly to meet officials from the ECB on Wednesday to hold similar discussions.
However, with the action due to get underway in just 17 days' time, a quick decision has been made that South Africa will be the temporary venue.
Support
"We are very happy to confirm that South Africa will host the 2009 DLF Indian Premier League tournament," Modi said in a CSA statement.
"We would like to thank Cricket South Africa very much for the support they have given us over the past few days, which has helped us to come to this decision.
"The South African public loves T2O cricket and CSA successfully hosted the inaugural ICC World T20.
"Both these factors weighed heavily in South Africa's favour, and we look forward to a successful and exciting tournament being held at venues throughout South Africa."
The start date has also been switched from April 10 to April 18 with the fixtures to be announced in the coming days.
Great compliment
"CSA is delighted to accept the invitation from Mr Modi to host the 2009 DFL Indian Premier League tournament," Majola said.
"This is a great compliment to both CSA and our nation to be shown this confidence in our ability to hold one of the world's top sporting events at short notice.
"The organisers can be assured that they have the full support of CSA's structures and the South African public to stage a successful tournament.
"This event will strengthen the ties even further between South African and Indian cricket, as well as binding our nations even closer together.
"We are looking forward to hosting some of the world's best cricketers, and we can assure them they will be provided with the very best facilities to show their skills.
"Once again, our thanks go to Mr Modi and his team for choosing South Africa and we will do the IPL proud."
England had been the early front-runners but there were question marks over possible venues, with the county season underway at the same time.
However, while thanking the England and Wales Cricket Board for their offer, Modi admitted at the press conference that it had been concerns over the weather that had been the major reason behind his choice.
