Delhi will not be hosting the second T20I against Sri Lanka © ESPNcricinfo Ltd
The Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) has informed the BCCI that it will not be able to host the the second Twenty20 international between India and Sri Lanka. The match, scheduled to be played on February 12, has been shifted to Ranchi, one of the venues on the BCCI shortlist.
Last week, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur had sent DDCA a stern email asking them get the requisite clearances from the various civic authorities necessary in order to host the match. Despite getting an extended deadline and approaching the Delhi High Court seeking its intervention, the DDCA struggled to obtain the clearances.
The DDCA wanted the court to ask the South Delhi Municipal Corporation to provide the provisional occupancy certificate. However, the court, which had facilitated the conduct of the fourth Test between India and Sri Lanka in the first week of December, refused the relief sought by the DDCA on this occasion.
“We have informed the BCCI today that we will not be able to get the clearance from MCD in time after complying to norms,” Chetan Chauhan, DDCA acting president, told PTI. ” We told the BCCI officials that we will have all the compliance certificates ready for World T20, but it will not be possible to get clearance before February 12 and then get clearances from state’s fire and electrical department.”
Chauhan remained confident that the prevailing situation would not hinder the DDCA hosting the World T20 matches in March, including the first semi-finals on March 30. Even Thakur had attested that. “This has no connection [to the World T20],” Thakur had said.
Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo