- Monday, May 06, 2024
The IPL will take place alongside the ‘Indian Political League’, the general elections, starting April 19.
By: Shubham Ghosh
WITH the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament already underway and the ‘Indian Political League’, i.e., the general elections due to kick off on April 19, officials will have their work cut out to manage both the big events happening together. Besides, there are popular Hindu festivals such as Ram Navami around the same time, adding more to the organisers’ woes.
The April 17 game of the IPL between former champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) scheduled at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in the eastern state of West Bengal could be affected by the festival, for example, according to one report.
It has been said that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering changing the venue of the match.
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Cricbuzz reported that the relocation of the venue of change of dates of the game could happen due to the Ram Navami celebrations. Since they will be held across the nation, authorities were reconsidering holding the game then owing to security concerns. Moreover, the first phase of the general elections will also begin on April 19 and Bengal will be among the states going to polls on that day.
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The report also said that both the BCCI and Bengal’s cricket body — Cricket Association of Bengal — are in touch with the Kolkata Police over the match’s hosting. While the board was yet to make any official announcement, the two franchises and the broadcasters have been informed about the situation.
If the match on April 17 is indeed rescheduled, the BCCI will have a serious problem. It announced the complete fixture of IPL 2024 only recently. Initially, fixtures for 21 games were announced while those for the remaining 53 ones were done after the Election Commission of India unveiled the itinerary of the seven-phase general polls between April 19 and June 1. The results will be announced on June 4, nine days after the final of IPL 2024 is held in Chennai.
At the moment, both KKR and RR are the only unbeaten teams in the IPL with two wins from as many games. Kolkata, however, top the points table owing to a better net run rate. Rajasthan play Mumbai Indians on Monday (1) at the Wankhede while Kolkata will meet Delhi Capitals in Visakhapatnam, Delhi’s adopted home ground, on Wednesday (3).
