South Africa to host IPL

IPL commissioner Lalit Modi made the announcement in Johannesburg on Tuesday

South Africa will host the 2009 Indian Premier League, it was confirmed today.

The decision to stage the tournament in South Africa followed a meeting between IPL commissioner Lalit Modi and Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola.

The pair met in Johannesburg today to discuss the possibility of the country hosting the six-week tournament which is due to start next month.

The start date has also been switched from April 10 to April 18 with the fixtures to be announced in the coming days.

Modi told a news conference in South Africa: "I would like to put on record my sincerest thanks to the England and Wales Cricket Board for their help and support.

"We were in negotiations but the overriding reason that we opted for South Africa was because of the weather conditions, which are a lot more favourable there than in England."

Modi added in a CSA statement: “We are very happy to confirm that South Africa will host the 2009 DLF Indian Premier League tournament.”

South Africa had been named as a possible host along with England after the tournament had to be moved away from India due to security concerns as it clashed with the national elections.

“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,” Modi continued.

South Africa are set to host Australia in a one-day series which does not finish until April 17.

The fixtures and venues for the 59-match tournament will be announced in the coming days.

"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."