The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has shifted out the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) matches out of Maharashtra following a direction from the Bombay High Court. The HC has asked the BCCI to shift the matches out of Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur from drought-hit Maharashtra after April 30. This means that 13 matches, including the final on May 29, cannot be held in Maharashtra.
As Maharashtra continues to suffer from severe drought, particularly in the Marathwada region, the BCCI told the court that shifting matches out of the state was not feasible because of concerns over financial investments and the brand values of the defending IPL champions Mumbai Indians and new entrant Rising Pune Supergiants taking a hit. However, the HC has ruled that the matches cannot be held beyond the end of April while Maharashtra is facing severe water crisis.
IPL final shifted to Bengaluru
The IPL final, which was earlier scheduled to be held in Mumbai, will now be played in Bengaluru. In a meeting held between the IPL authorities and Pune Supergiants and Mumbai Indians, it was also decided that IPL's first qualifier will be held in Bengaluru while the second qualifier and the Eliminator will be played at Kolkata's Eden Gardens.
While, Mumbai Indians have opted for Jaipur's Sawai Man Singh Stadium as their home ground while Pune Supergiants have chosen Visakhapatnam for the matches. "We had given Mumbai Indians three options - Jaipur, Kanpur and Raipur. Mumbai Indians told us that they would like to play their home matches at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur. Accordingly, officials will be going to Rajasthan in order to speak to the state government," IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said.
While Jaipur used to be the home ground of the now-suspended Rajasthan Royals, the state cricket association has been under suspension but Shukla had earlier mentioned that suspension of the state association does not mean suspension of the venue. In fact, Rajasthan state team played their home matches of the Ranji Trophy under the aegis of the BCCI at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium.
It has been learnt that logistical considerations and creation of an easy fan base are the primary reasons that prompted Mumbai Indians to zero in on Jaipur, which has had the experience of hosting IPL matches during the first eight seasons of IPL.
