IPL Kochi chairman wants to play matches in Abu Dhabi

The chairman of IPL Kochi said yesterday that he wanted to bring the excitement of Indian Premier League cricket to the UAE, at least on an interim basis. Harshad Mehta said that with no home ground for the team at the moment, Abu Dhabi was one of the choices they suggested to the IPL. "It would take at least two years for the stadium in Kochi to be ready, so we requested IPL to give us an alternative ground," Mr Mehta said.

"They suggested Indore and also said we could play in Ahmedabad. We said Abu Dhabi, but that can't be done now. Lalit Modi [the IPL chairman] is very strong about keeping the game in India. "It is good to take the IPL outside India. If it's the same people and the same audience, it gets tiring after some time. It is better to look at different venues for the IPL tournament." pmenon@thenational.ae