Indians disappointed with change in venue of IPL matches.

New Delhi/ Mumbai, Mar 25 (ANI): The change in venue for the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has brought disappointment to the Indians who were batting for the Twenty20 competition being played in India.

"It is like imagining Wimbledon in England, Australian Open tennis, or the UFA cups being played abroad. The charm of an Indian event has gone. It has become a television event," said Diana Edulji, former Indian women's Test cricketer.

Jitender Kumar, a cricket coach, said: "It will send out a wrong message to the world that such a big country like ours could not provide security to a sporting event. I believe it would have been better if IPL would have been held in India."

Disappointment was writ large on the faces of young cricket enthusiasts who felt that IPL should be hosted in India as very few matches are played on Indian soil.

"IPL going out of India is very bad because we used to get little time for cricket in India because there are no matches played in India. The matches played here are very less. So we need the Indian Premiere League to be hosted in India," said Rohit Sawai, a cricket enthusiast.

South Africa was chosen for playing host to the IPL after the competition was moved out of India due to security reasons by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after it failed to get government clearance for security cover because the tournament, which was due to run from April 10 to May 24, clashed with the country's general elections.

England was also considered as an alternative venue for the competition, but South Africa was chosen as the host nation after IPL chairman Lalit Modi met with Cricket South Africa (CSA) Chief Executive, Gerald Majola.

The attacks on Sri Lankan cricketers in Pakistan and the last year's 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks have triggered the need for heightened security measures for an event like IPL which has many international players associated with it.

The tournament will feature 59 matches beginning April 18, with fixtures to be announced shortly. (ANI)