IPL schedule likely to be finalised next week

The IPL schedule is likely to be finalised early next week with India's Home Minister P Chidambaram travelling to Chennai this weekend. "The Home Minister is leaving [for Chennai] today and will only be back on Monday. It [likely decision] may only happen now on Monday," a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) spokesperson told Cricinfo.

The central government is still waiting for the written feedback from the states slated to host the IPL matches - only two have responded so far - to take a final call. "Only Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have got back," the MHA spokesperson said without revealing if the two states had guaranteed the security for the IPL games.

Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, today said the league was prepared to face any sort of "eventuality" and had put in place remedial measures if necessary. "We have multiple iterations for multiple schedules with multiple possibilities," he said. "We are taking every eventuality into account but let us not pre-empt anything."

IPL officials said following states had given them security assurances: Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh. They were still waiting for responses from three states - Maharashtra, Delhi and Tamil Nadu.

With the heightened concerns over cricketers' safety following the Lahore attack, the IPL has reportedly placed an order for 80 armoured vehicles to be delivered within 15 days. "This [bullet-proof vehicles] is a recommendation that has been given to us," the Indian Express quoted an unnamed IPL official as saying. "We're looking into it and we're hoping we will manage it." However, Reuters said IPL officials refused to comment when asked about the report.