New Delhi: The Bombay High Court’s recent order to move Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016 matches out of drought-hit Maharashtra has not gone down well with the people, particularly the cricket legends.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday ordered the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to shift all the IPL matches scheduled after April 30 in Maharashtra out of the state. This would mean 13 of the 19 matches to be played in Maharashtra have to be moved to venues outside the state. The IPL franchises are likely to file a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court against the High Court’s verdict.
Former Indian cricket team captain Rahul Dravid reacted by saying that cricket should not be mixed with such a serious issue.
“The fact that so many people are dying because of shortage of water in Maharashtra is a serious issue but linking it to IPL matches trivialises the whole thing. Linking IPL matches and drought makes no sense,” Dravid, who is also the mentor of Delhi Daredevils team, told the media after the court order.
Another former captain Sunil Gavaskar shared Dravid’s sentiments, but wondered if the world’s premier cricket league was used as a “soft target” in a larger political game.
Gavaskar said he found no sense in moving 13 games in May when Maharashtrian venues like Nagpur, Mumbai hosted several ICC World Twenty20 games in spite of water scarcity in the state.
“IPL is a soft target with people finding problems with the tournament every year. There have been less rains in Maharashtra in the last two-three years. Will moving a few IPL matches help ease the problem? We need long-term solution as farmers are important. If not having IPL will solve the problem, then we should stop playing cricket,” Gavaskar told the Gulf News.
He also said that it would be a “double blow” for new team Rising Pune Superstars (RPS) if they had to pay Rs five crore to the Chief Minister’s Drought Relief Fund. RPS will be rendered homeless in May due to the Bombay High Court verdict.
“Is water really being saved by not having IPL matches? If yes, how can it be done? The BCCI did guarantee that they will not use potable water. Franchises and BCCI also offered to make donation. Those two were significant and good gestures,” Gavaskar added.
Maharashtra-based water conservationist Rohan Bhosle feels farmers’ life is an absolute priority.
“Shifting IPL matches out of Maharashtra will definitely help drought-hit farmers as the water saved will be supplied to affected areas, as per the Bombay High Court order. You are not expected to trivialise people who put bread on our table. So providing water to the drought-affected parts of Maharashtra should be an absolute priority,” he said.
