The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) might get forced to move the last two ODIs against Australia from Mohali and Delhi respectively. The airport operations at Delhi and Chandigarh have temporarily been suspended for several hours after India had shot down Pakistan’s F16 fighter jet on Wednesday. If the tension prevails further, it will not be possible to organize the match at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium in Mohali on March 10. The stadium itself in the periphery of an Air Force station.
With India further asserting to continue operations against terrorist camps across the border, the situation appears to remain tense and far from normal over the next few weeks. The stadium also falls in the path of the flights taking off from the Air Force Station. For this reason, the stadium also does not have high floodlight towers, unlike other Indian cricket stadiums.
If the tension escalates further, the security and logistics concerns will also rise at the two stadiums in North India. To avoid any last-minute mess up, the BCCI is reportedly considering to move the games to Bengaluru and Visakhapatnam. Bengaluru has also hosted the second T20I between the two teams on Wednesday.
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Meanwhile, veteran Australian cricketer, Glenn Maxwell has said that the team was in touch with their High Commission in India. The security personnel would sit with the team and issue guidelines if they were required, and the team would abide by it.
Saurashtra has also proposed to host one of the matches. In an email to BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary, Saurashtra Cricket Association Jt. secretary Madhukar Wora has reportedly said, “this is with reference to the news article on possibilities of India vs Australia ODIs to be shifted from Mohali and Delhi in the prevailing situation. Kindly be informed, the SCA Stadium and its ground are all prepared to host ODI if it’s required to be shifted.”
The Karnataka State Cricket Association is all reported to be apparently happy to stage the ODI. With the grounds asked to be prepared, the final decision will be taken in the next couple of days. The series opener of five-match ODI series is scheduled for March 2 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.
