An official announcement to this regard is likely only on Wednesday, after Modi travels to England as well, sources said.

England had been tipped to host the event for several reasons — the huge Indian diaspora, shorter travelling distances between venues — and even the Indian team management, from New Zealand, had stated their preference to play in the country which will host the Twenty20 world championships right after the IPL.

However, the South African government then put its weight behind the bid to host the event, and a few other factors made it a more viable option.

The biggest advantage, one that might eventually clinch it for South Africa, is the fact that Supersport are exclusive broadcasters both for CSA and the IPL.

In England, there could be a large speedbump: Under ECB’s contract, Sky television (the ECB’s broadcast partners) have the rights to any new competition — sanctioned by the ECB in either the domestic or international arenas. But the status of a competition organised by an overseas board and taking place in this country with the co-operation of the ECB is not clear. Sky’s rival Setanta hold the broadcast rights in England to all 59 matches in the IPL under a five-year deal agreed last year.

Secondly, there is no direct conflict of interest between the IPL’s major corporate partners in India and companies in South Africa, making it easier to market the event, sources indicated.

Although the South African domestic season is almost over, CSA has asked their respective associations to keep their grounds in order and be ready to stage matches. According to IPL sources, Durban is likely to be made the base considering the presence of the large Indian population, with Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Centurion as the other venues.

Another factor that could go against England is the fact that the IPL might have to play on grounds used by the minor counties — England host West Indies in a Test series, while the County Championships will also be underway — as the bigger grounds might be unavailable.

However, Cricket South Africa (CSA) chief executive Gerald Majola remained cautious about South Africa’s chances. “All that’s happened so far is that we’ve received an invitation, an approach in fact, from the BCCI to be a possible option for their IPL because they took a decision yesterday to move away from India,” Majola was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

Interestingly, the general elections in South Africa are also due on April 22, a one-day affair — the IPL kicks off on April 10 and gets over only on May 24 — while the South Africa-Australia one-day series will also conclude only on April 17.

England continues to remain in contention though, especially with the eight franchises preferring that as the venue.

The Times reported that county chief executives are both excited and cautious at suggestions that the eight IPL franchises favoured England as their temporary home. “All county clubs would be interested in additional games, but the logistical issues in such a short space of time would be tough,” Stewart Regan, the chief executive of Yorkshire cricket, said. “How would we sell tickets? How do we accommodate the IPL sponsors? How do we organise security? My heart would say, ‘yes, let’s do it’ but my head would say that it probably wouldn’t be possible,” he added.