BCCI to TNCA: Ensure all Chepauk stands available or lose World T20 game
Chennai’s MA Chidambaram stadium might miss out on hosting next year’s World T20 games as the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) is yet to resolve the issue of unavailability of three stands to the public during the matches. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be issuing an ultimatum to TNCA to resolve the issue as soon as possible or face a relocation of the T20 World Cup games.
The three stands — I, J, and K — that collectively have the capacity of 12,000 seats have been sealed off since an ODI against West Indies in November 2011.
The Chennai Corporation have issued a lock-and-seal notice citing lack of building approval for reconstruction work in the three stands. New galleries were built after demolishing some old stands but have not been open to the public for few years now. All IPL games and the international matches, including the recent ODI between India and South Africa, saw those three stands go untenanted.
In April this year, Supreme Court had said that those stands violated the safety norms and added that the unauthorised parts have to be demolished.
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“We are not inclined to allow you to use the three stands. You should not have started the construction without planning permission and approval. Your starting point is stinking. so many compromises with the authorities. We don’t want to open a can of worms,” a bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice RV Ramana told the TNCA.
“India will be hosting T20 World Cup for the first time and Chennai will be hosting one T20 game. It’s a big occasion for us and we don’t want the world to see one part of the ground empty because there is some issue which is yet to be sorted. There are many venues who want to host the T20 World Cup and if this stands issue is not resolved we will consider other options,” a BCCI official said.
