Cricket South Africa welcomes IPL launch

CEO of Cricket South Africa (CSA), Gerald Majola, has welcomed the launch of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Bangalore.

"CSA congratulates the organisers on launching this very exciting new jewel in cricket's crown", Majola said. "There is no doubt that the IPL is going to add a lot of value to the growth of cricket, and bring a new audience into the game just as T20 cricket has done over the past few seasons. "We feel that South Africa has made a major contribution to this phenomenon by successfully hosting the ICC's inaugural T2O World Championship recently. India has now taken up the baton and is running very well with it.

"I believe, however, that it is vital that the International Cricket Council creates a six-week window in the international programme each year for the IPL tournament so that it does not encroach on any international tours."In this way, there can be no conflict between national playing contracts and those of the tournament. An ideal time would be the last two weeks in April and for the month of May." - Sapa