A worker pulls his rickshaw past a billboard featuring Mahendra Singh Dhoni, one of the cricketing superstars who will play in the lucrative new Indian Premier League. Photograph: R S Iyer/AP
Specialist cricket websites, including Cricinfo, have been cut out of an agreement to allow news organisations full access to the inaugural Indian Premier League, which starts tomorrow.
Unlike websites affiliated to traditional news groups, online outlets such as Cricinfo and Cricket 365 will not be able to cover the Twenty20 tournament's matches from inside grounds.
Under the IPL's finalised accreditation terms, these websites will also have to buy images from an officially sanctioned syndication service and not from local agencies as traditional news groups will be able to.
Sambit Bal, the editor of Cricinfo, said the restrictions were discriminatory and unjust. "We are being denied our basic rights to cover a cricket event in a professional manner," he said.
International news body the News Media Coalition also attacked the IPL's deal.
"It is an attack on freedom of choice and on press freedom to force controls on the media which mean news pictures of the tournament will not be seen on cricket fans' favourite websites," the News Media Coalition said.
"It is ironic and gravely worrying to the media and fans alike that websites which have provided general cricket news to a worldwide fanbase should no longer be able to provide full coverage. It is a sad day when a sporting body attacks its fans and media partners in this way."
The IPL had to modify its original accreditation terms after an outcry from media groups.
It has conceded that news groups will be able to use a "reasonable" quantity of pictures on their websites at the time matches are played.
Previously the IPL had stipulated that a maximum of six pictures could be used for each game - and that these could not be uploaded to a newspaper's website until its print edition had been published.
The IPL also changed another contentious clause in its initial guidelines by allowing agencies to supply images to online operations.
A number of British newspapers were among the organisations that protested to the IPL, challenging some of their accreditation conditions.
The IPL, which features some of the biggest stars of world cricket, starts tomorrow with the match between Bangalore Royal Challengers and Kolkata Knight Riders, two of the eight big city franchises.
Setanta has secured the British TV rights to live coverage of the 59 matches in this year's tournament as part of a five-year deal.
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