www.expressindia.com - Weather | Horoscope | Stocks | RSS
expressindia web city
HomeBlogsCricketAstrology TendersClassifieds Reader Comments Hotels
Sign In / Register | Archive
Expressindia » Story

Kolkata Knight Riders moving IPL matches to Gujarat?

Font Size

Agencies

Posted: Jan 17, 2009 at 1709 hrs IST

Kolkata With their revenue-sharing dispute with Cricket Association of Bengal refusing to end, the Shah Rukh Khan-owned Indian Premier League team Kolkata Knight Riders has decided to shift few of its matches to Gujarat.

Incidentally, the co-owner of the Kolkata franchise Jay Mehta, who hails from Gujarat, held a three-hour marathon meeting with CAB supremo Jagmohan Dalmiya and other Knight Riders officials.

But the CAB maintained that it was a routine affair. Asked about the shifting of matches to Gujarat, Dalmiya declined it. "I have no knowledge about it (about shifting of matches)," he said.

But the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) president Narahari Amin today said they are expecting to host at least two-three matches at their Motera stadium.

"The Kolkata Knight Riders has a deep Gujarat connection ... Apart from Mehta, who has personal relations with our executive committee member Nishit Vyas, we have two players -- off-spinner Mohnish Parmar and medium-pacer Ishwar Chaudhary -- in the KKR ranks.

"We are hopeful of getting two-three matches here and it will generate huge interest. In fact, we have been approached by the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) and they are very soon going to inspect the venue to shift few matches to here," said Amin exclusively.

"Our stadium is completely refurbished and has 65 AC cabins, which no association has. In the last series we hosted (India v South Africa Test) we generated a huge revenue of Rs 1 crore and 70 lakh... We have a 52,000 capacity and I am sure, it will be a hit here," he added.

The CAB has already conceded that few KKR matches are going to shift to Barabati Stadium in Orissa. More than the Gujarat connection to IPL, the huge success of the Indian Cricket League matches at a smaller venue of Sardar Patel Stadium was something that prompted Mehta to make the change, a source claimed.

"Moreover, the KKR avoid the ongoing tussle over payment issue with the past CAB administration (Prasun Mukherjee)... They are pretty much concerned about it so they plan to shift few matches to Gujarat and Orissa," added the source.

The present CAB administration is still in dark over the expenses incurred during the April 20-May 25 carnival last year. Eden Gardens hosted seven matches of the inaugural IPL Twenty20 meet.

To sort this out Dalmiya and Co. have formed a three-member special committee which comprises legal experts. Each of the eight hosting state associations of the IPL meet was instructed to limit their expenditure to Rs 3.5 crore, with the spent amount of money recoverable from the respective franchisees.

However, the Mukherjee-led administration spent Rs 7.26 crore, reasoning that Eden was a larger venue. Shah Rukh's Red Chillies Entertainment apparently has refused to reimburse Rs 7.26 crore, putting the new administration led by Dalmiya in soup.

Discuss this story on expressindia forums
Post Comments
Name* Email ID*
Subject* Country*
Message*
Characters remaining
 
TERMS OF USE: The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments posted or part thereof. You shall ensure that the comment is not inflammatory, abusive, derogatory, defamatory &/or obscene, or contain pornographic matter and/or does not constitute hate mail, or violate privacy of any person (s) or breach confidentiality or otherwise is illegal, immoral or contrary to public policy. Nor should it contain anything infringing copyright &/or intellectual property rights of any person(s).
I agree to the terms of use.

Latest News

Business

Showbiz

Sports

Pune bus driver to face probe for any ‘terror links’

Vikram Seth: Salman Rushdie row misuse of religion, power

New Ayodhya pushes BJP to the limit

27 farmers dead: Bengal gets kin to rewrite suicide note

Top cop can’t step outdoors, MLA wife fends for herself

Bhopal tragedy: Olympics ethics chief won't defend Dow, quits

US does it again, TV channel calls Hindu deities 'weird'

More
© 2011 The Indian Express Limited. All rights reserved
Advertise With Us | Privacy Policy | Feedback | Express Group | Site Map