India v/s West Indies one-day international on November 1 will now be played at Green Field Stadium at Kariavattom in Thiruvananthapuram.
The India-West Indies one-day international on November 1 will now be played at Green Field Stadium at Kariavattom in Thiruvananthapuram. The match was earlier scheduled to be held at Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Kochi.
The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) decided to shift the venue out of Kochi after a discussion with Sports Minister AC Moideen in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday morning, reported The News Minute.
Several people including cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar had objected to the digging up of the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium to lay a cricket pitch. The stadium was developed as a world class football stadium for the FIFA U-17 World Cup. It is also the home stadium of Indian Super League team Kerala Blasters, co-owned by Tendulkar.
"We have taken an in principle decision to host the India-West Indies ODI at Thiruvananthapuram in the wake of government request," KCA Secretary Jayesh George told reporters here.
"But a final decision on the matter will be taken after the KCA's general body gives an assent," he said.
The government has also said it will take the initiative to construct an International cricket stadium at Kochi, he said.
The KCA's initial plans to host the ODI at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Kochi had led to opposition from various quarters.
Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, who is also the co-owner of Kerala Blasters, former Indian captain and co-owner of the Kolkata-based ISL franchise Atletico de Kolkata, Sourav Ganguly, Indian football captain Sunil Chetri and former union minister Shashi Tharoor, have all come out against the KCA's decision to host the one dayer at Kochi.
Apprehensions had been raised that hosting a cricket match at the Kochi stadium, the home ground of Kerala Blasters, would damage the world class football turf and affect the ISL season that normally begins in October every year and lasts for around four months.
The KCA made the move to host the ODI at the Kochi stadium two days ago after the BCCI decision to award it the right to host the ODI.
KCA decided to shift the event out of Kochi after the Sports Minister gave an assurance at the meeting that support will be provided to build a new stadium at Kochi. It was also decided that in future when the state is selected as a venue for cricket tournaments, both Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram will be considered equally.
(With PTI Inputs)
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