HPCA irked by BCCI’s decision to put Ranchi on stand-by

The third game is scheduled to held on Tuesday at Visakhapatnam but connectivity to Dharmshala was an issue

The Indian cricket board had put Ranchi on stand-by for the fourth ODI against the West Indies, a move that has irked the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA), hosts for the game to be held on October 17.

The third game is scheduled to held on Tuesday at Visakhapatnam but connectivity to Dharmshala was an issue as air tickets for the players of the two teams were not booked in advance and hence seats were not available at the last minute.

However, the match is set to be played in Dharmshala after HPCA president Anurag Thakur, also BJP’s Member of Parliament from Hamirpur and the party’s youth wing president, used his influence and convinced an airline company to arrange for a chartered flight, which will be via Delhi.

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What made the HPCA officials see red was the fact that they were given a one day notice and asked them to arrange for the tickets of the players, though the BCCI’s logistics wing books or blocks tickets for players during a series.

HPCA is now going to take up the matter at the next meeting.

“The board knew at least two months ago that Dharamshala is going to be one of the venues for Windies series. Why were the tickets not blocked earlier? It is not the first time Dharamshala is hosting a game. BCCI knows that it is not easy to get bulk tickets at the last minute,” a HPCA official said. When contacted Thakur he was unavailable for comment.

Can’t shift Vizag match

Visakhapatnam: There is little possibility of shifting the venue of the India-West Indies third ODI from here despite the cyclone ‘Hudhud’ threat and the hosts Andhra Cricket Association hoped the match would be conducted smoothly on October 14, the BCCI said on Saturday. Hudhud has been classified as a ‘very severe cyclone’.

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“It’s difficult to shift the venue at such a short notice. The cricketers itinerary may be changed but there would be logistical problems like TV crew and other things. We’re however alert on this,” Board Secretary Sanjay Patel said.

(PTI)

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