KOCHI: Kerala’s chances of hosting international cricket matches took a beating after the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) announced on Monday that they are going to stop looking after the Sports Hub in Thiruvananthapuram. That, currently, is the only venue of that stature in the state.
The development follows KCA’s claim that they are unable to host a women’s cricket series between India and South Africa next month after the venue was reserved for an Army recruitment rally at the same time. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had allotted the series to Kerala but the state association could not get the clearance to host the competition. KCA raised apprehensions of not receiving any international match going forward.
Stadium given to Army without telling us: KCA
That despite the cricket body having maintaining the ground at the Sports Hub year-round for both domestic and international matches. KCA officials fear the state will eventually miss out on opportunities to host Indian Premier League matches as well as this year's T20 World Cup matches."The stadium, which is maintained by the Kerala Cricket Association, was given out to the Army by IL&FS (stadium owners) without informing us. Though there are other grounds in Thiruvananthapuram that could be used for holding recruitment rallies, it's hard to understand why the facility at Kariavattom was handed over for the purpose. Due to these developments, the KCA has decided not to continue maintaining the ground going forward," read a statement released by KCA.
The venue, maintained by KCA from 2016, has hosted two T20Is and an ODI, besides matches in domestic competitions like Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Ranji Trophy."The T20 World Cup matches, which BCCI were supposed to allot to us alongside other international tournaments, will be lost because of the current situation," the statement read further.
KCA president Sajan Varghese said their officials had met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan recently. "We met the CM as well as the Sports Minister who offered full support towards conducting these matches. It is disappointing when the facility you have looked after becomes unavailable when it is needed the most. It's not often that we get to host international matches and it's a loss for Kerala cricket. If the government doesn't intervene, the facility would become unusable," Sajan said.It is understood that the India women's team's matches have been shifted to Bengaluru.
"Normally, all BCCI and ICC fixtures are released in advance. In this case, there was a last-minute approach and since the facility was given to the Army, there would have been a conflict. They had requested to use the facility at least two months in advance, and since no events were happening at that time, it was given out to them. But it is a big loss in terms of an opportunity to conduct international cricket," said an official from the Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs.
Meanwhile, an IL&FS official said they had only received an enquiry from the Army and the company had not officially made any decision. The company will come out with their side of the story soon, the official added.KCA also pointed out they have had to bear extra maintenance costs to rectify the damage that occurs after the stadium is allotted for non-cricketing activities."When KCA is not using the facility, it is given out for stage shows and other activities which are in violation of our agreement. After spending crores looking after the ground, and yet unable to use it for cricketing purposes, we have decided it is not conducive to continue doing it," said KCA.