Lucknow matches set to be shifted
LUCKNOW: UPCA NEEDS AT LEAST 140 ROOMS FOR EIGHT TEAMS AND THE BROADCASTERS BUT ALL THE HOTELS ARE BOOKED.
The knockout matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy allIndia one-day are all set to be shifted from Lucknow due to the lodging crisis of teams in view of the state government-sponsored ‘UP Investors Summit-2018’, scheduled to be held on February 21 and 22.
The knockout matches, which are scheduled to be held from February 21 to 26, at the two grounds at the Ekana International Cricket Stadium here, are likely to be shifted as UP Cricket Association’s only Test centre Green Park stadium in Kanpur too is unable to accommodate teams due to a hotel crisis.
The UPCA has already shot a letter to the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI), informing them of the situation.
“We have even suggested them to postponed the dates, and if they agreed for this, we would be conducting the event in Lucknow from February 26. No hotels are available to make stay arrangements of the team,” said UPCA’s secretary Yudhveer Singh.
Hosts UPCA needs at least 140 rooms to accommodate eight teams and the broadcasters but all the hotels are booked.
“If we had even a few hotels from Feb 18 to 26, we could have proposed to conduct the event both at Lucknow and Kanpur at the same time, but rooms aren’t even available even in Kanpur,” said a UPCA official on condition of anonymity.
This isn’t for the first time, when hotel crisis in the twin cities have posed problem for cricket teams.
Last season during the Indian Premier League matches at Kanpur, Mumbai Indians had to stay back at Lucknow for a day as there was no availability of hotel in a busy wedding season.
The group matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy begin on February 5 and all 25 teams would continue playing till February 17 before eight quarter-finalists moving to the city, where the knockout matches would be scheduled.
Nagpur may be the second option for the conduct of the knockout matches.