Pti

New Delhi: Its schedule thrown haywire after the Bombay High Court ordered the shifting of 13 Indian Premier League (IPL) matches out of the drought-hit west Indian state of Maharashtra, the cash-rich league on Friday picked Bengaluru as the venue for its finale and offered four alternate home options to the state's affected franchises.

In a meeting between IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla and representatives of Rising Pune Supergiants and Mumbai Indians, it was decided to allot IPL's final and the first qualifier to Bengaluru.

The second qualifier and the eliminator, on the other hand, have been proposed to be moved to Kolkata to implement the Bombay High Court's order that asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to shift all the IPL matches after April 30 from Maharashtra due to the acute water crisis in the state.

In Friday's meeting, the two affected franchises were asked to pick from Raipur, Jaipur, Visakhapatnam and Kanpur as their alternate home base.

While Pune opted for Visakhapatnam, Mumbai Indians sought two days' time to choose their new base.

"We will propose before the governing council that final and qualifier 1 be shifted to Bengaluru, while qualifier 2 and eliminator to Kolkata," Shukla told reporters after the meeting.

"After speaking to the franchises, we have given them four options: Raipur, Jaipur, Kanpur and Visakhapatnam. Mumbai Indians have asked for time till Sunday (to give their preference)," he added.

"Pune has given Visakhapatnam as its preference. We will put the proposal of the Pune team before the governing council."

The logistical crisis was triggered despite the BCCI's assurance to the High Court (HC) that IPL franchises of Mumbai and Pune had agreed to contribute INR five crore each to the Chief Minister's drought relief fund.

"As far as giving INR five crore is concerned, it will be as per the directive of the High Court. They (the franchises) are supposed to get a written order on this," Shukla said.

Shukla also stated that the BCCI will plead before the HC to allow the May 1 clash between Mumbai and Pune to go ahead in Pune as the home franchise will be playing a game in the city on April 29.

"We will request the honourable court to allow us to hold this match," he said. .

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