The Indian Premier League final scheduled on 12 May was, on Monday, moved from Chennai to Hyderabad after the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association failed to get requisite permission from the government to open the three closed stands, reported PTI.
While defending champions Chennai Super Kings still have a chance to play Qualifier 1 at home if they finish among the top two teams in the league, the Eliminator (May 8) and Qualifier 2 (May 10) have been shifted to Visakhapatnam.
“We had to shift the matches from Chennai to Hyderabad after TNCA intimated us that they have not procured the requisite permission to open the three stands I, J and K,” Committee of Administrators chief Vinod Rai told PTI on Monday.
“Since the gate sales of the knock-out matches is BCCI’s prerogative, we had to take a call. We would be having two knock-out matches in Vizag,” he added.
The three stands at the MA Chidambaram Stadium make up for more than 12,000 tickets and BCCI would have lost out on a few crores of gate money. The stands have remained closed since 2012 but for one international match between India and Pakistan, when an exception was made. It was for this very reason that Chennai did not get to host any of the men’s matches in the 2016 T20 World Cup.
When asked if all the knock-out matches’ ticket sales are Board of Control for Cricket in India’s prerogative, Rai reasoned: “CSK, by virtue of being defending champions, were allotted the Qualifier 1 and final. Now if they finish in top two, you cannot take away all the games. They deserve to get at least one of the knock-out games.”
The league matches in Chennai this season have been played with the stands covered by giant yellow hoardings. Hyderabad only got the final and not the Eliminator or Qualifier because of the general elections in the Cyber city on 6, 8 and 10 May.
The issue plaguing Chepauk is the requirement of ‘setback space’ between one of the stands and the gym inside the stadium premises, according to a report in the Sportstar.
“In accordance with Madras High Court orders. The association had approached the Greater Chennai Corporation for the same before the start of the 12th edition of the league and talks have been encouraging. However, with the final a little more than a month away, there is no luxury of time,” the report stated.
In additional news, the first three-team mini women’s IPL will be held from May 6-10 in Jaipur with a new team Velocity being added to the existing Trailblazers and Supernovas.
