Chennai is on the verge of losing the right to host the two playoffs scheduled to be held in the city. The Eliminator and the Final as the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) has not been able to resolve the issue which results in three stands at the Chepauk stadium — I, J and K — remaining empty for IPL games.
Those three stands can equip as many as 12,000 people but have to remain empty since November 2011 after Madras High Court put a stay on the use of those stands as TNCA reconstructed with the assessment report of these stands. In fact, a criminal case was also filed against TNCA by the High Court in 2013.
As per BCCI guidelines, Chennai will be hosting the Eliminator and Final being the defending champions while Hyderabad will host the Qualifiers after being runners-up last year. However, Bengaluru is now being kept on standby to step in.
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Talking about the same on Monday, CoA chief, Vinod Rai said, “It is very unfortunate if we have to shift the matches from Chennai. They have earned the right to hold these playoff ties. But we are asking all three Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad to be ready to host Playoff ties.” On the other hand, Diana Edulji said, “We still have a couple of weeks’ time. We will meet TNCA officials and discuss if an alternative can be found to resolve this issue. Three empty stands in a big stadium like Chepauk doesn’t look good for the optics on television as it is being broadcast to so many homes. If the issue can’t be resolved, we’ll move the games to Bengaluru.”
Meanwhile, the CoA member, Edulji also confirmed that this year four women’s T20 games will take place, up from one-off T20 match last year.
The top 14 women’s T20 cricketers in the world, including the players like West Indies’ Deandra Dottin and T20 World Cup-winning captain Stafanie Taylor, South Africa skipper Dane van Niekerk and fast bowler Marizanne Kapp, and Sri Lanka’s Chamari Atapattu will join players from India and will be divided into three teams. The teams will face off each other once before playing the final.
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Describing the same, Edulji said, “The games will be held at all the Playoff venues a day before the IPL games. The players will be divided into three teams and will play four games this year.”
Last season, the one-off Women’s T20 Challenge in Mumbai was played as a tournament opener to the first Qualifier and comprised two teams — the Supernovas and the Trailblazers — that featured Indian and prominent foreign players.
