The Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) is making all efforts to make Cuttack one of the IPL venues, said its Secretary Sanjay Behera on Thursday. The association is in talks with several private organisations who can be potential buyers for the Cuttack franchisee.
Speculations were rife about Cuttack being one of the two new Indian Premier League (IPL) franchisees that the BCCI is planning to introduce next year.
In fact, Naveen Jindal from jindal Steel and Power has expressed interest in owning the franchisee of Cuttack.
As per reports, the Board of Control for Cricket in India or the BCCI has shortlisted six cities for the eventual two new franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.
The six cities shortlisted for the T20 extravaganza include Cuttack, Guwahati, and Ranchi from the East, Ahmedabad in the West, Lucknow in the Central Zone and Dharamsala in the North.
But will Cuttack be able to find a place in IPL 2022? If national reports are anything to go by, Ahmedabad and Lucknow are the top contenders owing to the bigger capacity venues. Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad has a capacity of over 1 lakh and Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow has a capacity of 50,000.
In comparison, Barabati Stadium in Cuttack comes very close with a seating capacity of 45,000. Barabati was also an alternate home venue for the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014 and was an adopted venue by former IPL team Deccan Chargers.