Barabati ready to host IPL if State supports: OCA secy

Cuttack: With Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune ruled out as host grounds for IPL matches in May, Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) Secretary Ashirbad Behera on Wednesday said Barabati Stadium is ready to host the cricket matches provided the State government lends its full support.

Behera told media persons, “We have seven pitches at the Barabati stadium. Besides, the U-19 matches are going on. Therefore, the stadium is in full state of readiness.”

However, he added that the OCA would not request the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to change the IPL venue to the Barabati stadium.

Behera said, “If BCCI asks us to organise the match here, we are ready for that. But no directive has been issued to us regarding this so far.”

Notably, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed BCCI to shift all IPL matches after 30 April out of Maharashtra observing that the plight of drought victims cannot be ignored.