CHENNAI:The International Cricket Council meet in Barbados at the end of June may take a call on the venues for the World T20 to be hosted by India next year and as things stand, Chennai is likely to miss out.
It has been learnt that the ICC wants to host the tournament only in five venues though the BCCI had expressed its willingness to host it in eight cities. The event is scheduled to take place from March 11 to April 3. However, the BCCI has limited say in the allotment of venues as the World T20 is an ICC event and the host body can only draw up a list of venues but can’t decide on the number of venues.
The BCCI was keen on having the event in each of its 10 Test centres but such a move was ruled out by the ICC in its previous meeting since it would hamper logistics. It was also firm in having only five venues. When the country hosted the 50-over World Cup in 2011, except for Kanpur, all the permanent Test venues got to host the matches.
But in the case of Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium, the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association cannot use the three stands — I, J & K — because of a Supreme Court order and consequently the venue has been left out for the WT20. Though the TNCA was unaware of the development, it was confident that the three stands will be opened by the time India host South Africa in an ODI in October. But the ICC reckons it can’t wait.
“The ICC wants only five venues and such a move won’t be fruitful as it is difficult to get repeat audience in the same city. If eight venues are used, then even a neutral fixture will draw crowds and that is what we emphasised, but the ICC feels it will only increase cost. As it is an ICC event, the revenue will be shared by all equally, so the BCCI may have to settle for five venues,” a board insider said on Monday.
