May 15, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 9, 1429

NEW DELHI, May 14: Following Tuesday’s bomb blasts in Jaipur, a request by the Bangalore Royal Challengers to shift the venue of their IPL match against Rajasthan Royals has been turned down by the league.

Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, has turned down a request to move the venue of Saturday’s match from Jaipur following a series of explosions in the city, killing at least 60 people.

“They [Bangalore] had approached me with a request to shift the match out, but we cannot do that. The match will go ahead as scheduled in Jaipur on Saturday,” Modi said, adding that extra security will be provided at the team hotels and the Sawai Mansingh stadium, the match venue.

Meanwhile, Brijesh Patel, Bangalore’s Chief Executive Officer, has instructed the team to return home.

Martin Crowe, Bangalore’s Chief Cricket Officer, said on Tuesday night that they had requested that the match be shifted out of Jaipur, and offered to host it at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, their home ground.

It’s learnt that the foreigners in the squad are particularly worried about the security situation following the blasts.

“We have conveyed our decision to the IPL council,” Crowe stated.

“The franchises are discussing the issue. A final decision will be made tomorrow. We are going to Delhi tomorrow and will probably head over to Bangalore after a night’s stay in Delhi.”

Bangalore have already hosted Rajasthan in the tournament – on April 26 – in a match that the visitors clinched easily.—Agencies