Amid cauvery protests bcci may shift all ipl 2018 matches out of chennai

Amid cauvery protests bcci may shift all ipl 2018 matches out of chennai

Not taking any chances, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday short-listed four cities – Thiruvananthapuram, Visakhapatnam, Rajkot and Pune — to host Chennai Super King’s remaining IPL home matches due to the protest call was given by actor-turned-politician Rajnikanth and others because of the Cauvery water dispute.

However, since CSK are not playing a home match before April 20, and in case the situation gets better, the match against Rajasthan Royals may take place as scheduled.

While Kerala Cricket Association has shown interest in hosting the matches in Thiruvananthapuram, Visakhapatnam has emerged as the favourite because of logistics and the city’s infrastructure.

Thiruvananthapuram MP and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor too said on Wednesday the matches would be played at Thiruvananthapuram’s Sports Hub if the BCCI decided to shift the venue to Kerala.

BCCI acting president CK Khanna said: “CSK is fully co-operating with the BCCI and the best available solution will be availed. We are exploring multiple venues.”

IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla had also spoken to the Union Home Secretary on Tuesday, seeking government intervention in smooth conduct of IPL matches in Chennai.

Committee of Administrator (CoA) Vinod Rai said the prevailing conditions had led the BCCI to have others options ready.

“We are thinking on the lines of shifting the IPL matches from Chennai. There are four alternative venues that BCCI has kept ready. They are Visakhapatnam, Trivandrum, Pune and Rajkot. CSK can play their matches at these venues,” he said.

“We have to keep in mind the prevailing political and security situation in the state. But we have told the CSK franchise to evaluate the current situation and take a final call in this regard. It will be CSK’s decision,” Rai was quoted as saying.

According to information, Kasi Viswananthan, Super Kings’ chief executive officer, met the Chennai police commissioner and was advised to “reschedule” the matches in the wake of the ongoing protests in the city.

“Because of the volatile situation we have been apprised that it is better to reschedule the games,” Viswanathan said. “We have conveyed that to the BCCI and awaiting [further] information.”

He said the franchise had not suggested any alternative venues to the board. “Normally they [the IPL governing council] will give a list of venues available,” he said. “After that only we can decide.”

On Tuesday, massive protests were witnessed ahead of the match between CSK and Kolkata Knight Riders. The protest was called by various groups not to host cricket matches in the city when the state was facing such a grave situation.

During the Tuesday’s IPL match, shoes were also hurled at Chennai Super Kings cricketer Ravindra Jadeja and South African skipper Faf du Plessis. Following the incident, police arrested two persons for throwing a shoe on the field.

IPL organisers have sought additional security in the wake of the protest by various Tamil outfits.

Tamil outfit threatens to let loose snakes

Tamil outfit has also threatened to let loose snakes into the Chepauk stadium to protest over the Cauvery water dispute issue if another match of the cricket league is held at the venue.

The snakes will not be poisonous as the intention is not to harm anybody, but to only express angst over the delay in formation of the Cauvery Management Board (CMB), Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi (TVK) chief T Velmurugan said.

Rajinikanth condemns violence against cops

On Wednesday, Tamil ‘Superstar’ Rajinikanth condemned the alleged attack on three policemen during the anti-IPL protests over the Cauvery issue, drawing sharp reaction from a group of pro-Tamil film-makers.

The three cops were allegedly shoved and attacked by protesters near the Chepauk stadium where an IPL cricket match was held yesterday amid protests.

The reason for the attack and the identity of the assailants were not known, though they were believed to be cadre of a pro-Tamil outfit.