Dubai: The second leg of IPL VII may be coming back to India, but it’s not necessarily good news for the Rajasthan Royals fans.
The Shane Watson-led team will not get to play even a single game at their home base Jaipur, according to the fixtures released the Indian board on Thursday.
“Rajasthan Royals will play four matches at Ahmedabad,” said a release from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
“The Rajasthan Royals have indicated to the BCCI that they are happy to play their four home matches of the India leg of the 2014 season, at Ahmedabad, to avoid any uncertainty to their home matches”, BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said in a press release.
The Rajasthan team has been extremely successful at Jaipur, turning the Sawai Mansingh Stadium into a fortress that most teams have found difficult to breach. So the news comes as a setback for the 2008 champions, who will now play four home games at Ahmedabad.
The news invited a sharp response from banned former IPL chief Lalit Modi, who tweeted: “Depriving Rajasthan games of a Team called Rajasthan Royals - born and bred in Rajasthan is just Pure Malice and stupid. Happy to see Ahmedabad get it’s much due matches - better would have been to split the games as I did in Year 3.”
Each of the eight franchises get to play nine games in India during the second leg, with five of the eight teams playing at least four matches at home grounds.
However, a section in Indian media said that the reason may be the legal battle the BCCI is fighting in the Supreme Court over the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) elections. “RCA doesn’t have any office-bearers. The matter is still in court. Franchises work hand in hand with state associations but the case here is different,” sources in the BCCI told Indian Express.
Lalit Modi contested the elections in spite of serving a life-ban slapped by the BCCI. The results of the polls are yet to be declared and are in custody of the Supreme Court in a sealed envelope.
