Kanpur to host IPL matches

The Indian Premier League commissioner Rajeev Shukla confirmed that Kanpur will host two IPL matches and serve as the home ground for Gujarat Lions for two matches.

Gujarat Lions will play two games against Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians on May 19 and 21 respectively. Both the matches will be night games and start at 8 pm local time. While talking to the TOI, Rajeev Shukla said the IPL governing council has given its green signal to Kanpur to host the IPL matches.

According to the IPL commissioner, it was the report by BCCI’s chief cameraman SK Srikant that helped the IPL governing council to finalise the venue. When Shukla, was asked why there was no official announcement was made about it, he said that Kanpur already figured in the schedule, and it was almost finalized subject to the condition of the floodlights at the venue. “And finally, Srikant gave the thumbs up nod on Thursday,” he quoted.

Rajeev Shukla also added that Kanpur has also been added to the list of venues to host day-night matches. “Successful hosting of the proposed matches will open the chance for organizing other day-night international matches in the future,” he added further.

The Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) is confident of organizing the matches smoothly. Interestingly, Kanpur has never hosted a day-night match before. The stadium has floodlights since 2000 but day-night matches have never been played. Lalit Khanna, CEO of Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association, admitted the fact but said the UPCA team is confident of smooth functioning.

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