BCCI coy on 2016 World T20 games in Chennai, Pakistan series

Anurag Thakur offered a mystical “just wait for couple of days” when asked about the Pakistan series. (Source: File)

It had seemed Chennai won’t get to host any game in the World T20 next year. It had seemed Pakistan won’t play India next month. It had also seemed that Delhi won’t host the fourth India South Africa Test. As ever nothing is what it seems in Indian cricket. Now, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur has hinted at the possibility of Chennai getting to be a host, and India playing Pakistan.

It was speculated that Chennai’s MA Chidambaram stadium might miss out on hosting next year’s T20 World Cup games as the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association was yet to resolve the issue of unavailability of three stands to the public during the matches. The three stands — I,J, and K — with a collective capacity of 12,000 seats had been sealed off since an ODI against West Indies in November 2011. Things seem to have changed, though.

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“We have not ruled out Chennai,” Thakur said. “The only issue is which matches can be played in Chennai. There are certain limitations also. You can’t play Sri Lanka over there, three stands are not complete, you can’t keep the fans away from those games, so many things have to be considered before allocating matches to these centres.” Asked a direct question about whether the Indian board would fix another venue as a stand-by, Thakur said, “That situation won’t arise”.

The other issue of India-Pakistan series was also discussed on Thursday. Thakur offered a mystical “just wait for couple of days” when asked about the series. On November 17, PCB chairman Shahryar Khan had said that Pakistan won’t travel to India. “If the series takes place, it will only be held in UAE,” Khan had said. However, the latest buzz suggests we might see a twist in the tale.