AP pitches for 4 matches

In a face-saving exercise, the State government is now planning to wrest at least four of the seven IPL matches scheduled to be held in Andhra Pradesh.

The IPL governing council, which moved four games to Mumbai, is now planning to reschedule three, barring the inaugural, out of the troubled city. Bhubaneswar is now being talked about as the other possible venue for the Deccan Chargers’ games after Saturday’s terror strike in Pune. It might get to host three games while the other three would be held in Nagpur.

“I have spoken to Mr Sharad Pawar and explained the situation to him. We are trying to get at least two matches each for Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam,” sports minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy said.

The minister sounded upbeat but said the governing council’s decision could only be known on Monday.

Mr Reddy reiterated the Telangana JAC’s cooperation for the smooth conduct of matches in the state.