Motera Stadium front-runner to host the IPL All-Stars game

The IPL All-Stars game hogged the limelight for various reasons on Thursday. While the day began with the reports emerging that the game was called off, the IPL Governing Council Chairman Brijesh Patel later confirmed that the charity fixture has been postponed to the end of tournament. The date and the venue is yet to be finalised. Though if the latest reports are concerned, the Motera stadium is the front-runner to host the star studded game.

The BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has confirmed that the decision to hold the All-Stars game at the end of the IPL season was taken on Sunday when the IPL Governing Council met. He also cleared that the game had nothing to do with the World XI vs Asia XI games, the BCB is hosting next month to mark the 100th birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

“The IPL governing council had met last Sunday and it was decided to hold the game at the end of the season. The board needed enough time to float the tenders for the game. The game is on,” Ganguly told the Times of India on Thursday.

Announcement of Motera hosting All-Stars game to be made soon

While Ganguly didn’t confirm the date and venue of the IPL All-Stars game, a top BCCI official has informed that the renovated Motera Stadium is likely to get the honours of hosting the match. According to the official, only formal approvals are to be taken and the final decision will be made public soon. Moreover, the BCCI President Ganguly is also scheduled to visit the Motera stadium on February 24.

“All preparations are done. A BCCI team has done a proper recce of the stadium. Everything is in place. A formal approval from the authorities needs to be taken and an announcement will be made soon,” the official said. Also, it is being understood that the reason for postponing the IPL All-Stars game was the workload of Indian cricketers. India’s ODI series against South Africa only ends on March 18 and playing the charity fixture would’ve been too much for them.