PUNE: Rising Pune Supergiants are breathing a sigh of relief after the Bombay High Court on Wednesday gave them the go ahead to host Mumbai Indians at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on May 1, a week after it had ordered shifting of all IPL matches from the drought-hit state post April 30.
The Pune team along with the BCCI have been considering other options as it would have been logistically impossible for the franchise, who are to face Gujrat Lions on April 29 in Pune, to shift the May 1 match against the Paltans to a venue outside Maharashtra and play them in a single day.
BCCI had moved the court through its general manager (games development) Ratnakar Shetty on April 13 pointing out the practical difficulties in doing so and had urged the court to allow them to hold the May 1 fixture in Pune as scheduled earlier.
Pune are to play against Gujarat Lions on April 29 in Pune, and hence, it is “practically impossible” for BCCI and the Pune franchise to shift the May 1 match to another venue outside Maharashtra and “make all arrangements for the same in just a single day”, the application had said.
The plea stated that the request is “bonafide and is being made in the interest of justice” and if the court does not grant relief, then severe prejudice, grave hardship and irreparable damage and injury will be caused to BCCI and the Pune franchise. It also said if the match is shifted to a venue outside the state then the team members and its crew can travel only in the afternoon of April 30 as the match on April 29 will get over only late in the night.
Senior Counsel Rafiq Dada appearing for BCCI sought consideration from a division bench of Justice VM Kanade and Justice MS Karnik on Wednesday that allowed the match to go on. “As an exception, due to logistical reasons mentioned by the BCCI in the application, we are allowing the match to he held in Pune on May 1,” its order said.