Deliberate attempts to create problems: Rajeev Shukla

IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla has been a busy man of late. While the IPL continues to move to the corners of the country, the BCCI has been battling various state committees over IPL venues. The drought problems in Maharashtra have seen a major chunk of the matches moved out of the state. Rajeev Shukla, the chairman of the IPL has alleged that these were deliberate attempts to create problems for the ‘IPL brand’. A major chunk of World T20 matches was indeed held at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

“I don’t understand why such a big issue is being created by holding IPL matches in Maharashtra.There was absolutely no opposition to T20 matches recently played in the state. IPL has become a brand and there seem to be deliberate efforts to create problems for it,” Shukla told reporters at the Congress Bhavan on Friday

Shukla also went on to claim that the shifting of the venue out of the state of Maharashtra would be a notch down for the Mumbai Cricket Association and the Maharashtra Cricket Association. Shukla said a similar issue was raised in Rajasthan, but the court did not issue any order to shift the matches out of the state.

“The Mumbai Cricket Association had said that treated sewage water was being used for the grounds in Mumbai while the Maharashtra Cricket Association said recycled water was being used at its stadium at Gahunje in Pune district. The state cricket associations had already announced that they would contribute towards drought relief measures in Maharashtra,” he said.

The controversial shifting of venue out of the state of Maharashtra came when a local NGO made a formal complaint to the court regarding the scarcity of water in different parts of the state.

Also read – Sachin Tendulkar, Pepsi to help Maharashtra battle drought