Auckland, March 23: With the Indian Premier League moving out of Indian shores to deprive the cricket fans of their entertainment and the players of their annual chance to showcase their skills at home during the cricket carnival, reactions from Team India are mixed.

While they feel bad for the fans back home, they feel the game will rise to a higher level given the challenging conditions abroad.

"Obviously the Indian public would have liked to have the IPL played in India. Due to certain circumstances it’s difficult. I’m sure the authorities must have tried but it’s not workable. That’s the reason it’s not in India. I guess we have no choice at this moment," Sachin Tendulkar said before talking about the new challenge.

"It’s obviously going to be different. In India it is about home games and away games. Right now, looking at the itinerary — either in England or South Africa — everything is going to be an away game. It really doesn’t matter where you play," the Mumbai Indians captain added.

Talking about the support for Indian cricketers abroad, Sachin said: "It’s always fantastic to have Indian fans away from India. Support in any part of the world is always welcome. Virtually, wherever we go we’ve got a lot of Indian support and that is something that has been a big support and strength for us."

For swashbuckler Yuvraj Singh, "it’s a mixed bag of feelings."

"We were looking forward to playing in front of our home crowds but now we have to play away. You feel sad for Indians who were looking forward to watching the IPL. But then again there are Indians around the world in places like America who can’t make it to India, but maybe they can come to England," the Kings XI Punjab skipper said. "We’re always looking to play cricket, whether it is in India or away. The IPL is such a popular tournament, it should go ahead. Twenty20 is enjoyed by fans all around the world. There are a lot of Indians in England and South Africa so numbers will not be a problem," Yuvraj said.

"Even as it is, because of the security situation we were going to play games in neutral venues. So it was not as though it was only going to be home and away games," he added.

India and Delhi Daredevils opener Gautam Gambhir saw a silver lining. "I think it’s going to be good if the IPL happens in England because the Twenty20 World Cup will be played there and we have a good chance to get acclimatised to the conditions and the wickets as well," he said.

"At the same time we would have loved to play in India and spend some time with the family. If you’re playing in India, there’s a lot of support for the home team — we never know what kind of support we’d get in India because it’s going to be a neutral venue for all the teams," Gambhir added.

There would be no favourites, according to the left-hander. "Neutral venues would mean there will be no favourites or underdogs. Whoever plays well on that particular day will win. It’s going to be much more challenging this time around," Gambhir said.

Kolkata Knight Riders opener and Kiwi superstar Brendon McCullum thought it was a good move. "It’s a sensible decision based on the situation in India with the elections. If you can’t guarantee the safety of the players involved in the tournament it makes it pretty hard to hold the tournament regardless of where it is. Security is first and foremost," he said.