IPL will go ahead: Bindra

London:

Inderjit Singh Bindra, International Cricket Council's (ICC) principal advisor and a board member of the Indian Premier League (IPL), is confident that season-two of the Twenty20 league will be played as scheduled despite fears post-Lahore attacks.

The attack on Sri Lankan cricket team last week in Lahore have forced players to have a second thoughts on coming to India for IPL. But Bindra is confident that the second edition of the Twenty20 league will not be affected.

"I am 100 per cent certain the IPL will go ahead," Bindra was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph. "Each of the venues except one has already got clearance from the Indian government. I foresee no problem."

"I was reading on the internet the other day about the Taliban and their attitude to cricket," Bindra said. "They say that Muslims should use swords not bats. They say that cricket in Asia is like opium in China in the 19th century - a tool of the imperial powers. It is a very pernicious philosophy."

Bindra believes that Pakistan should not start on the very slippery slope of playing at neutral venues.

"That is a booby-trap and they will cease to be a Test-playing country," he said. "How do youngsters watch and learn the game if Pakistan do not play at home? Give Pakistan a chance to get their act together - and they must ensure presidential-style security, not just talk about it. But ultimately this is something that cannot be tackled by cricket administrators but by the global powers," he said.

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