Cricket fans agog with excitement over return of IPL matches to Vizag

The last time an IPL match was played here was back in 2019; all eyes are on Rishabh Pant who is anticipated to make his comeback after a long break

Delhi Capitals’ Rishabh Pant during a practice session at the YSR ACA VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam recently.

Cricket fans are excited over the comeback of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to the city, which has been named the ‘second home’ by the Delhi Capitals (DC) team. Members of the squad have already arrived in the city and are practising at the YSR ACA-VDCA Stadium here.

The city is scheduled to host two IPL matches — one between DC and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on March 31 and the second one between DC and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on April 3. Ticket sales are likely to be announced in a few days’ time.

DC captain Rishabh Pant is making a comeback to cricket this IPL season onwards, after recovering from a near-fatal car crash in December 2022. After the National Cricket Academy (NCA) declared him fit, Pant arrived in the city a few days ago and is active in the nets.

DC’s team director Sourav Ganguly has also arrived in the city. Australian cricketer David Warner, who enjoys a huge fan following in the Telugu States, has announced on social media that he will be arriving in the city on Monday.

Elaborate arrangements

The Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) is making elaborate arrangements for the IPL and is expecting packed houses for both the matches, as the IPL returns to the city after a gap of almost five years. The last time Visakhapatnam witnessed an IPL match was in May 2019. Coincidentally, the last match was an eliminator between DC and CSK.

“All arrangements are being made for the matches. The stadium is being decked up. A meeting will be organised with the police department and other departments concerned in the next few days to discuss the security arrangements, after which sale of tickets will be announced,” said a senior member of the ACA.

Visakhapatnam has grown in stature as a cricketing venue, hosting T20s, One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and Test matches in recent years. There will be high demand for the two IPL matches allotted to the city, the ACA official said, adding that tickets for the match between DC and CSK are going to be highly sought-after as fans would flock to witness CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in action.