VISAKHAPATNAM: Here is big news for cricket loving people of the city. VDCA-ACA Cricket Stadium at Pothinamallayyapalem will host Indian Premier League (IPL) matches after a gap of three years. Committee of Administrators (CoAs) chief Vinod Rai told a news agency in Delhi that two IPL matches, Eliminator (May 8) and Qualifier 2 (May 10), have been shifted to Visakhapatnam. The announcement of Board of Control or Cricket has brought cheers to both cricket fraternity and fans in the city.
Visakhapatnam has so far hosted nine IPL matches when Sunrisers opted out of Hyderabad due to the Telangana agitation and six when Mumabi and Pune were forced to move out due to the water crisis. The City of Destiny, particularly VDCA-ACA stadium, has become a Hobson’s choice as far as cricket is concerned, said former Test umpire and VDCA general secretary K Parthasaradhi, and general secretary of VDCA. He said the stadium was ready in all respects to host the matches even at the last minute.
He said IPL team was making arrangements at the stadium for the last fortnight for the women IPL matches to be held in the first week of May. Even Hotsar crew was now stationed at the stadium for the last 15 days. He said people of Visakhapatnam are not so rich like their counterparts in other metros and cities and the IPL ticket prices might be pinching for them. However, with heavy tourist traffic to the city from Odisha and Bengal, the matches may witness full crowd, Pardhasaradhi said. He said there would not any clash of dates of IPL men and women matches.
T. Srikant, software employee and a big fan of Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma, said he was very happy to know that the IPL matches will be held in the city again. He said he would witness live action of both the matches.
Reacting to news of allotment of two IPL matches in Vizag, VDCA vice-president DS Varma said it is good and really bonus for the city. The city hosted the IPL matches in 2016 when Mumbai High Court shunted out IPL matches from Maharashtra in view of drought in the State. Varma said Vizag stadium is one stadium in the country which is always ready 365 days and the BCCI and ACA have immense confidence in the stadium for hosting the matches even in the last minute. He said when Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association expressed its inability to host the India West Indies match, Vizag lapped up the opportunity and it hosted the match.