IPL MATCHES SET TO SHIFT OUT OF CHENNAI

Protests against central government for its failure to set up Cauvery Management Board have unnerved the BCCI which is reportedly shifting IPL matches out of Chennai. The city returned to the roster after a gap of two years, hosting Tuesday’s game between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders.

BCCI sources said that “police seem to be unable to handle the situation. A final decision is likely to be taken by tonight”.

PTI added that four venues have been kept on standby. They are Visakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram, Rajkot and Pune. “We are thinking on the lines of shifting the IPL matches from Chennai. There are four alternative venues that BCCI has kept ready. They are Visakhapatnam, Trivandrum, Pune and Rajkot. CSK can play their matches at these venues,” Vinod Rai, head of BCCI Committee of Administrators, told PTI.

On Tuesday, thousands of protesters had descended upon the stadium and choked the surrounding areas. But the police managed to sanitise a route for the players.

Agitation outside the stadium on Tuesday turned violent with videos of protesters bashing up cricket fans and spectators going viral on social media. B McCullum (KKR) vs RCB, 2008 C Gayle (RCB) vs DD, 2012 C Gayle (RCB) vs KXIP, 2015 S Jayasuriya (MI) vs CSK, 2008 M Vijay (CSK) vs RR, 2010 A Russell (KKR) vs CSK, 2018

CHENNAI: AB de Villiers (RCB) vs GL, 2016