One of the direct fallouts of the terror attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore Pakistan yesterday has been increased concerns in India about security, particularly for the upcoming IPL series. International cricket is suddenly seen as more vulnerable to terrorists and terror strikes, which has increased these concerns.

Shocked reactions have come in from across the board including Lalit Modi, chairman, Indian premier league, who said, “We were indeed shocked to learn about the dastardly attacks on the Sri Lanka cricket team and hope for the safety of all the players and officials involved. The Indian Premier League strongly condemns these attacks on sportsmen and the sporting fraternity at large which is quite unprecedented. My heartfelt condolences to the friends and family of the deceased, in this hour of grief and we wish all the injured Sri Lankan cricketers a complete and speedy recovery.”

He went on to say how this attack is a first of its kind. "This attack in unparalleled in terms of the target - which was the Sri Lankan cricket team, especially since the Sri Lankan team were on a goodwill mission to facilitate Pakistan's re-initiation into the global cricket fold," Modi was reported as having said.

In wake of these events, Modi has sought to allay these concerns by saying that the IPL is fully aware of the security concerns. "The IPL is fully cognizant of the importance of general elections in a country such as ours. We will go a step further to ensure that there will be no games 24 to 48 hours prior to the polling dates across the nine match venues in the country", he was quoted in the cricket news as having said and added that that the new reworked schedule would be announced in the next 24 hours.

Modi sought to put to rest obvious concerns in the wake of yesterday’s attacks. "Let me assure each and everyone concerned with the tournament that we will leave no stone unturned to provide our cricketers, fans and stakeholders alike the best security arrangements. We are working in close conjunction with the Indian Government, the State Governments and franchisees for the safe and successful conduct of the tournament in 2009," he said.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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