Shifting IPL matches out of Maharashtra: Pune team picks Vizag, Mumbai Indians to take a call by April 17

MUMBAI: Rising Pune Supergiants and Mumbai Indians, the two IPL franchises who will have to shift their `home' matches outside Maharashtra after the Bombay High Court order, have been given four options -Raipur, Visakhapatnam, Kanpur and Jaipur -to choose from by the Board of Control for Cricket in India ( BCCI).
Rajeev Shukla, chairman of IPL governing council suggested the venues today in Delhi, following which Pune team has chosen Vishakhapatnam as their preferred venue. Mumbai Indians, however, will decide and inform the BCCI by Sunday, April 17.

"We were given the choice of four venues, and we have informed BCCI that Visakhapatnam is our preferred venue. We are here to play cricket. We are waiting for the decision on May 1 match; once we get it we will start making the appropriate arrangements," Sanjiv Goenka, chairman of RP Sanjiv Goenka Group, which owns the Pune team, told ET.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians owners, it is learned, will have an internal meeting tomorrow before taking the final call. Once both the team decide, the proposal will be placed before the IPL governing council, which will take the final decision.

Meanwhile, the final, two qualifiers and eliminator matches, which were also slated to be played in Maharashtra, could also be played in Bengaluru and Kolkata instead. “We will propose to shift the final and first qualifier to Bengaluru, while second qualifier and eliminator to Kolkata,“ Shukla told reporters in Delhi after his meeting with the two franchises.

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday had ordered shifting of 13 IPL matches post 30 April, which were to be played in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur of the draught-hit state. The court was hearing on the PIL filed by 'Loksatta Movement', a not-for-profit organisation. The court ordered the change of venues despite BCCI's assurance that they were ready to supply 40 lakh litres of water to the drought-affected areas in the state along with a contribution of ` . 5 crore to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.

Later, BCCI officials discussed possible venues and the four options were placed before the representatives of the two teams. Shukla said that BCCI will also file an appeal before HC, seeking approval for holding the match to be held on May 1 in Pune, as it would be impossible for Pune team to shift to a different venue within 24 hours as they host the Gujarat Lions on April 29.