Andhra minister wants Deccan to boycott IPL if matches moved out

Reports of IPL matches being moved out of Hyderabad have set off a controversy with a senior government official in Andhra Pradesh, of which Hyderabad is the state capital, asking the home side, Deccan Chargers, to boycott the tournament altogether in that eventuality.

The state has seen political unrest and violence for the past few weeks in the wake of a separatist movement; Deccan's first game, the tournament opener, was shifted to Mumbai on the grounds that it needed extra preparation, but four other games are still officially scheduled at Hyderabad.

A story published in Wednesday's Deccan Chronicle, owned by the same group as the cricket franchise, quoted a letter from Andhra Pradesh sports minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy to Sharad Pawar, the former BCCI president, guaranteeing maximum security during the tournament and peaceful conduct of the matches.

Later in the day, Reddy took a stronger line. "We have requested Deccan Chargers not to play in the IPL if the inaugural match and the remaining four matches are shifted out of Hyderabad," he told NDTV.

K Rosaiah, the Andhra Pradesh chief minister, also assured "all necessary support" for the peaceful staging of matches and urged Pawar to convincing the IPL organisers to stick to the tournament's original schedule.

"The decision of the IPL governing council to shift the inaugural match to another part of the country has left the cricket-lovers in the state totally disappointed," Rosaiah wrote in his letter to Pawar. "I request you to intervene personally and use your good offices for organising the IPL 3 matches in Hyderabad in the larger interest of the fans."

When contacted by Cricinfo, PK Iyer, one of the franchise owners, said he had no comments to offer.

Concerns over the political situation in Andhra Pradesh have already resulted in the shifting of an ODI between India and Sri Lanka from Visakhapatnam last December, and two ODIS scheduled for Hyderabad, during England women's tour of India in February-March, have now been split between Bangalore and Mumbai. Also, spectators were barred from entering the stadium for the first two days of the Duleep Trophy final between West Zone and South Zone in Hyderabad because of a perceived security threat.

Hyderabad will still be hosting four of Deccan's home matches, while the other two have been allotted to Visakhapatnam. Deccan are the defending champions, having beaten Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final in South Africa last year. The result was a massive improvement from their last-placed finish in the inaugural edition in 2008.