Dubai: Kanpur, Indore, Ranchi and Jaipur are likely to be considered as venues to stage the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches that have been ordered to be shifted out of Maharashtra.
The bid to find alternative venues came in the wake of the Bombay High Court’s directive to Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to shift all Indian Premier League (IPL) matches after April 30 outside the state of Maharashtra due to severe water shortages.
Thirteen matches scheduled after April 30 need to be moved out of the state and it is likely to turn out to be a logistical nightmare for the organisers.
Four of those matches were to be played at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, six in the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune and three in the Vidarbha Cricket Stadium.
Rajiv Shukla, the chairman of the IPL, had stated that the shifting of the matches will be a huge problem.
A meeting of the IPL, as well as the franchises, has been called and will be held in Mumbai on Friday.
The BCCI’s first preference will be to find venues in India itself, but Indian venues are not easily ready within short notice.
Some just cannot be made ready for a big event like IPL, especially the seating and stadium facilities as they may have hosted only a few domestic matches recently.
The UAE staged the first leg of the IPL matches in 2014 due to general elections in India and it also recently staged the Pakistan Super League.
According to an Emirates Cricket Board official, the UAE has not been approached so far by the BCCI, but revealed that the venues can be made available if needed. Though the weather will be hot in May, nights will still be cooler for matches.
In fact, Sharjah Cricket Council will be hosting their Bukhatir League matches during this period and all other councils are also gearing up for the Ramadan Night cricket tournaments.
A few Indian state associations have also offered their stadiums for the IPL matches.
The Andhra Cricket Association and Hyderabad Cricket Associations have even held meetings to make their stadiums ready for the matches if required. However, Mumbai Indians and Pune Rising Supergiants need a home venue.
Mumbai always had Wankhede as their home venue, while Pune was to use the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium.
Flight tickets for teams, officials and television broadcasters to travel within India are often booked two months in advance.
Hotel accommodation too is another important factor as IPL teams and television broadcasters may require many rooms in the city that hosts the match.
Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, which is being talked about as an alternative stadium, in October last year staged the India-South Africa One Day International match.
Jharkhand State Cricket Association Stadium in Ranchi is the home ground of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is the captain of the Pune team.