South Africa and England are battling for the rights to host the world’s most prestigious cricket league, the Indian Premier League (IPL). The league is being shipped out of India for security concerns.

Reports claim that Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi is flying to Johannesburg to meet with the Cricket South Africa administrators to discuss venue prospects. An English Cricket Board spokesperson also confirmed that David Collier will speak to Modi within the week before the decision is made.

“We will have to evaluate clearly and carefully before coming to a decision about the venue,” Modi commented.
 
Last Sunday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that they are changing venues, because the time frame of the league coincides with the country’s general elections. BCCI said that the government was not able to guarantee security for the 59-match league.

England and South Africa have expressed great interest to host the tournament.

“We have opened up discussions with the BCCI and the IPL within the last 36 hours and we'll be continuing those discussions in the middle of this week,” said Collier, who is the head of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

Collier added, “Then we'll be reporting back to our board at the back end of the week. Clearly, with only three weeks to go to the start of the competition, I think all parties recognize an early decision has to be made.”