Modi lashes out at media for reacting to every fringe group's IPL security problem pleas

Wellington, Feb 24 (ANI): IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has made it clear that security for the Twenty20 tournament is "top notch" with plans being upgraded on a daily basis, and said that media is reacting to every fringe group saying security is a problem.

Modi said that there would not be a repeat of last year when the tournament was shifted to South Africa due to security fears.

"We are going to have the tournament in India. I can't see any reason why we should move it at this point in time. The media is reacting to every fringe group saying security is a problem," Modi told the BBC.

"Nobody in the world can safeguard the safety of the players in any tournament. All we have to do is ensure we are putting on the best security. Safety is paramount to us and we are working with the national and state governments to ensure we have good security in place," he added.

Modi further said that the IPL is an Indian tournament, "we have the key Indian players and only a few international players. We have no worries at all. You have to understand that the market for us is India. It's not only dependent on foreign players, although they are part of it."

"The tournament is a huge success - we have a huge credibility, we have the top 200 players in the world. The heavens aren't going to fall if that happens," he insisted. (ANI)