On Wednesday, BCCI announced the IPL 2018 fixtures on Wednesday. However, Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) have asked BCCI to allot two playoff ties at Pune on basis of the fact that the now extinct Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) had finished runners-up in 2017. Madhya Pradesh Cricket Associations (MPCA) have also expressed their enthusiasm to host playoffs. As quoted in the Times of India quoted a letter from MPCA secretary Milind Kanmadikar, addressed to BCCI Acting President CK Khanna, Acting Secretary Amitabh Choudhary, and IPL Chairman Rajiv Shukla.

Milind Kanmadikar wrote, “We place before you our request for allotment of playoff segment matches of the forthcoming IPL season to us, which we shall stage at Holkar Stadium, Indore. Our venue has witnessed several exciting matches, international as well as domestic, attracting record-break crowd attendance at each instance. While our pitches and outfield has received accolades for its premium quality, we also have demonstrated our organizing abilities whenever the opportunity of hosting big matches was given to us. The city of Indore can offer other conveniences like hotels, air connectivity etc. required for such matches.”

He further added, “The three IPL matches during the previous season were extremely successful on all accounts and we are hopeful that the franchise [KXIP] would prefer our venue for this season as well. In view of the above, we sincerely expect a tremendous response in case of play-off match(es) being allotted to us. We shall be grateful to you if our above request is considered favorably.”

According to the schedule, Kings XI Punjab will play their first three games at Holkar stadium in Indore.

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Hosting playoffs at neutral venues makes a lot of sense, especially in a venue like Indore that has seen a sizeable crowd gathered in international matches. The other venues already get its share with the bulk of home matches. Indore has gained much distinction in the recent past after hosting multiple high-intensity international as well as domestic matches.

It has been the home to Kings XI Punjab in their last season and hosted three games at the start of the campaign. This year as well, Indore will be one of the home grounds for the Punjab-based franchise.