Vizag stadium on standby for IPL 2017

The 10th edition of the Indian Premier League kicked off on 5th April and we already have done with two epic clashes in the opening two encounters. While it was the repeat of the 2016 IPL final in the opening encounter of the tournament, the 2nd match saw two giants from Maharashtra lock horns with each other. Hyderabad returned triumphant in the opening match while Pune clinched a nail-biting thriller courtesy their captain Steve Smith in the 2nd outing.

With 2 matches in the tournament already done and dusted, The Indian Premier League Governing Council has decided to keep Dr YS ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Vishakapatnam as a reserve stadium if in case matches are required to be shifted in any emergency condition.

“We are glad that our centre is in contention to be one of the venues to host IPL matches during this season,” Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) secretary ChArun Kumar was quoted as saying by Times of India. The Andhra officials including Arun Kumar and president GVK RangaRaju had a chat with the BCCI and IPL officials. They were also invited to the inaugural ceremony of IPL 10 on Wednesday.

During the discussion, it was cleared out by the Governing Council that Vizag will be given top priority to host any IPL match if any case the venue have to be changed due to any unavoidable circumstances. Vizag has hosted many limited overs matches which also includes the whirlwind knock of Mahendra Singh Dhoni 12 years back. It also hosted it’s the first Test very recently against New Zealand last year.

It was ACA who came to the rescue when matches had to shifted from Mumbai and Pune due to the drought conditions in the state during that time. The upcoming match in the IPL will be played between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Gujarat Lions in an hour and a half.