Decision on India-Sri Lanka Kotla T20I on Friday, DDCA moves court
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will decide on Friday whether India’s Twenty20 international against Sri Lanka next month will be held at Feroz Shah Kotla as scheduled or be shifted to another venue.
BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur had sought a written word from the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) on whether or not they would be able to host the T20I on February 12. However, the association is yet to make any progresss even though a week has passed since their meeting with Thakur. Despite deadline extensions on two occasions, the DDCA has not managed to get even a single clearance or permission to host the match. “We have a meeting for the ICC World Twenty20 in Mumbai on Friday and we will take the decision about the India-Sri Lanka and other matches at Kotla there itself,” BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur told The Indian Express.
Meanwhile, the DDCA has filed an application before the Delhi High Court on Thursday seeking provisional permission to host the international fixture in what is seen as a desperate measure to keep the tie at Kotla. “We have filed the application today (Thursday) and the court has agreed to hear us on Friday. Mr Chetan Chauhan, association’s working president, has already conveyed the same to the BCCI and I feel they’ll cooperate with the DDCA on this front,” says DDCA treasurer Ravinder Manchanda.
The DDCA, in an application before the court, has said that it has initiated the process to get completion certificate and other clearances from the concerned departments, but would require provisional certificate to hold the upcoming match. The association further said that it was working on the process of getting all the necessary clearances under the supervision of Justice Mukul Mudgal, who would also be overseeing the organisation of the international fixture. The application was mentioned before the High court on Thursday, and is set to be heard before the bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Vibhu bakhru on Friday.
“We met the concerned departments today and have already prepared the Rs 83 lakh draft required to get clearance from the Land and Development Office (L&DO). We also met the DUAC (Delhi Urban Arts Commission) department and some artwork is to be done for NOC from their end. We are moving in the right direction and will put the same in front of the bench,” said Manchanda.
