The meeting at the Mumbai headquarters on Tuesday concluded between the new BCCI office-bearers and the holders of the eight franchises. The decision to add three new cities, namely Lucknow, Guwahati, and Thiruvananthapuram, to host some Indian Premier League (IPL) matches next year was decided at the meeting.
The two IPL teams Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and Rajasthan Royal (RR) usually play some of their home matches outside. They play 2 or 3 home games on alternative home grounds each year. Rajasthan wanted to change their second home from Ahmedabad to Guwahati for the 2020 IPL, while Punjab chose Lucknow as their alternate home location.
“Rajasthan has requested a change of their second home from Ahmedabad to Guwahati and while the GC is okay with the move, IMG will now inspect the Barsapara Cricket Stadium before giving the green signal,” an official was quoted as saying.
Thiruvananthapuram will host the IPL matches next year
As for Lucknow, since the last edition, KXIP had been looking to move to the city as KXIP had even sent in a request. Polling played a significant role in causing the board to switch stadiums. But thanks to the great review of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium. After the India-West Indies game, the venue is now almost certain to become Punjab’s second home. They earlier played their games at the I.S. Bindra Stadium in Mohali and also used the Holkar Stadium in Indore as their second home,” the official added.
Rajasthan had problems in profit-sharing with their current home venues, and this is one of the two reasons why they wanted to move to Guwahati. The other factor was that the Guwahati Cricket Association was also very interested in being part of the cash-rich table. The Greenfield International Stadium ratings are excellent for Thiruvananthapuram, and the cricket fans across Kerala are waiting for IPL matches to be played there.
Mumbai Indians (MI), Kolkata knight Riders (KKR), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Delhi Capitals (DC) are all keen on playing international friendlies with other cricket clubs around the world in another IPL franchise-related news. Rajasthan Royals are the newest entrants to join the four franchises, apart from the four mentioned above to give a nod to this idea.
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