IPL to expand, trial pink balls

Indian Premier League organisers have voted to come under the supervision of the International Cricket Council's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit next season and to add two new teams and trial pink balls in 2011.

The IPL said seven of the eight existing teams had voted in favour of expanding the league to 10 clubs in 2011, Press Trust of India reported on Monday.

Organisers of the lucrative Twenty20 league announced in a statement that they'd agreed to several rules changes during a three-day meeting.

Among those were that teams will be allowed to trade players, will be able to use four fielding substitutes and that any ball delivered above waist height will be declared a no-ball.

Organisers also planned to investigate harsh sanctions for players who signed IPL contracts but did not fulfill them.

The inaugural edition of the IPL was held in 2008, but this year's edition was shifted from India to South Africa to avoid a clash with India's national elections. The 2010 tournament is scheduled to start in March.

The IPL has been a marketing hit for cricket, with the leading players from around the world signing rich contracts to play for high stakes in the shortest form of the sport.

Because it is essentially a domestic league run by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the competition has not been required to be supervised by the ICC's security unit.