KOLKATA, Jan 27: The second tsunami relief charity cricket match, which was to be held at the Eden Gardens ground here next month, has been postponed to April, the Asian Cricket Council said on Thursday.

"The tsunami match has been postponed as the International Cricket Council (ICC) felt it was not the best time to organise it because of the un availibity of some top players," ACC chief Jagmohan Dalmiya said.

The first tsunami aid match between an Asian XI and a World XI was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia on Jan 10, raising an estimated 11 million US dollars.

Dalmiya said the ICC had decided to reschedule the match for the second half of April, when the international calendar would be less hectic. "The ICC said it was never easy to fit in an additional match but this fund-raising initiative was important for everyone," Dalmiya said.

"The ICC felt that since players from Australia and New Zealand would be busy because of prior commitments, it was best to keep the match for a later date," he added.

Australia are scheduled to tour New Zealand in February while England will still be in South Africa for a one-day series after completing a five-match Test series. "Preparations were on at a hectic pace.

The sponsors were ready and the tickets had gone into print. The ACC will now discuss the issue at a meeting in Dubai on Jan 31," Dalmiya said. More than 283,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands made homeless by the giant tsunamis that hit Indian Ocean coastlines on December 26 after an earthquake off the Indonesian coast. -AFP