Cricket buffs in the city can look forward to watching at least two IPL matches in the city with organisers confirming that some matches will be moved out of Chennai.
As per sources in the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) and Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association (VDCA), Visakhapatnam will host the May 8 eliminator and May 10 qualifier. Both matches will be played at the ACA -VDCA Stadium.
The stadium, located near Madhurawada, has a seating capacity of 27,500.
Officials said the matches were shifted to Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad, with the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad being confirmed as the venue for the final match, from Chennai after the TNCA failed to procure permission to open three of its stands that are under renovation.
Sources in VDCA said that apart from this, ACA-VDCA is also likely to host two matches of the Women’s IPL tournament.
Seizing the opportunity
The ACA-VDCA stadium has always managed to rise to the occasion in the past whenever a match had to be shifted from other venues owing to logistical issues.
The stadium had earlier hosted IPL matches in 2012 when erstwhile Hyderabad franchise Deccan Chargers chose this stadium as its second home venue.
Later, matches were shifted here in 2015 and 2016 due to the Telangana agitation and water issues in Maharashtra respectively.
Dhoni factor
“Most likely, Chennai Super Kings will play a match here and locals can get to see Mahendra Singh Dhoni in action. The ACA-VDCA ground happens to be one of Dhoni’s favourite stadiums, as this is where he shot into prominence after scoring a swashbuckling 148 against Pakistan in 2005,” said G. Srinivas, an upcoming 16-year-old cricketer.
Dhoni had also hit a memorable three sixes and a four in the last over for Rising Pune Supergiants in 2016.
With official confirmation coming in by late evening, ACA-VDCA offficials commenced decoration of the stadium for the matches. The date of commencement of ticket sales is yet to be announced.