England and Wales are favourites to host the Indian Premier League, which is being moved out of the Asian country because it clashes with elections.
South Africa is the other possibility but their board is not optimistic, believing England is the preferred selection for the Twenty20 tournament. 
IPL commissioner Lalit Modi told BBC Radio 4 a choice may be made on Monday.
"I don't think we will have a decision until late this evening because we need to go through every detail," he said.
Modi said it would be a difficult choice and it would simply come down to who was best suited to host the tournament, which is set to run from 10 April until 24 May.
He had no choice but to move it from India because the government could not guarantee safety and security resources with elections happening at the same time.
Gerald Majola, chief executive of Cricket South Africa, said he believed his country was on standby should England not be able to host the competition.
He said: "I must say from my side, I'm not that optimistic. The real reason I say so is the timing.
"A decision has to be taken shortly. So I suspect they would be speaking to maybe their preferred choice and I think South Africa is just a standby to whoever their choice is."
England and Wales chief executive David Collier was flying from the West Indies, where England are playing, to London to hold talks with his Indian counterparts.
There are a lot of logistics to sort out as the tournament would clash with the start of the county season and the beginning of the West Indies' tour of England.
Somerset chairman Andy Nash believed England had an 80% chance of hosting the lucrative tournament, which sees eight domestic teams with an array of international talent - includng Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff - competing.
Nash told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Obviously there is an awful lot yet to be worked out, but, at the end of the day, England invented the Twenty20 format.
"Should it be possible to bring the IPL here, I'm sure there will be enormous crowds and a huge amount of interest.
"Logistically it won't be simple but if the will is there it can be overcome, I'm sure.
"Cricket can achieve remarkable things if people work together.
"Once the ECB are aware of the requirements of the BCCI and IPL, they will move heaven and earn to try and accommodate this."
