The Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to take off in a few weeks, with excitement reaching boiling point among both players and spectators. The season will start in a thrilling fixture between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the historical Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata on March 22.
But before the matches have even started, the tournament finds itself amid a scheduling crisis that might affect one of KKR’s home matches. KKR will face Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at Eden Gardens on April 6, which also coincides with the religious fair of Ram Navami. The day is likely to witness large-scale religious processions throughout Kolkata, posing a big security challenge.
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Reports suggest that the Kolkata Police has expressed fears regarding its capacity to ensure proper security for the match, bringing its feasibility into doubt. Replied, officials of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) have approached West Bengal’s Sports Minister, Aroop Biswas, and held talks with him.
To discuss &review the current railway security scenerio, identify threats &vulnerabilities & formulate strategies for enhancing railway security; DIG SKR chaired a security review meeting at RS Wanpoh. SSP Kulgam &other officers were present @JmuKmrPolice@KashmirPolice @DigSkr pic.twitter.com/EC5NoCnXs0
— District Police Kulgam: official (@policekulgam) March 5, 2025
KKR’s home fixture against LSG could be rescheduled as it is Ram Navami on April 6.
In 2024, KKR’s game against RR was brought up by a day after the Kolkata police had expressed concerns over providing security for both the match and local celebrations for Ram Navami.
(ABP) pic.twitter.com/qSTkZXfSnt
— KnightRidersXtra (@KKR_Xtra) March 5, 2025
According to sources, the minister has promised his cooperation and held talks with law and order agencies to arrive at a viable solution. Rescheduling or relocating the match is, however, much easier spoken than done, considering the massive local interest in the KKR vs. Lucknow encounter.
Further enhancing the importance of the match, Lucknow’s franchise is controlled by Kolkata-based entrepreneur Sanjiv Goenka, and the team just signed star player Rishabh Pant, which has further raised the excitement level. This is not the first time IPL programming has conflicted with Ram Navami. Such a conflict in 2024 resulted in a rearranged KKR match.
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With the tension running high and excitement among the fans, the solution has to be found in time to enable the smooth running of the tournament. Meanwhile, KKR has appointed Ajinkya Rahane as captain and Venkatesh Iyer as vice-captain. The side will start its pre-season camp at Eden Gardens on March 12, ahead of what could be an action-filled season.
