“IPL is nothing but business”: Congress

As the elections are closer, closer are the controversies surrounding IPL & Politics. Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress, in a bid to downplay the IPL controversy, today hit back saying the IPL was just “commercial cricket” and not a national tournament. The BJP, meanwhile, had tried to score political points claiming that the UPA government was unable to provide security to popular cricket tournaments in India. The Congress strongly opposed the BJP and asked it not to “politicize” the issue.

Preity Optimistic about IPL held in South Africa

Preity Zinta, who co-owns Indian Premier League (IPL) team Kings XI Punjab, says the Twenty20 tournament moving to South Africa is like "asking an actor to perform in a theatre where nobody knows him", but the Bollywood star also hopes the shift helps in making the event bigger.

"The option was to either have it outside India or not at all. No one is happy to shift from home ground. That thrill of playing across our own country at domestic tournaments is gone. Going to various cities with the m

atches is a high," Preity told IANS in an interview. "But we've to be optimistic. Last year when the IPL started everyone thought it would flop. It became the biggest hit ever. Likewise, the shift to South Africa could make the IPL bigger," she said on a positive note.