Virat Kohli refuses to get into CAA controversy, says Guwahati is absolutely safe ahead of 1st T20I

India’s first assignment of 2020 will be against Sri Lanka who they take on a T20I at Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati, Assam, on Sunday. It will be the first of the three matches that the Lankans will be playing on this brief tour of India. The islanders had a mixed performance recently as they beat Pakistan in the shortest format in their den 3-0 but lost to Australia Down Under by the same margin.

However, apart from the game of cricket, Guwahati will also be in the news for the ongoing protests in the northeastern state over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which was recently passed by the Indian Parliament amid massive controversy. The ruling BJP has been under fire across the nation over the CAA as well as the National Register of Citizens (NRC) which particularly left Assam in turmoil.

‘Do not know enough of CAA’

India captain Virat Kohli was asked in Guwahati to comment on the CAA issue and he conceded that he did not know enough about it. “Would be irresponsible of me to comment on CAA as I do not know enough about it. We have found the city to be absolutely safe,” Kohli was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times editor Dhiman Sarkar in a tweet.

Breaking: would be irresponsible of me to comment on CAA as I do not know enough about it. We have found the city to be absolutely safe: @imVkohli on CAA in Guwahati. @HTSportsNews @htTweets @BCCI #INDvSL

— Dhiman Sarkar (@DhimanHT) January 4, 2020

Kohli’s boys are on a roll at the moment with successive series wins in the West Indies and at home after the disappointing ouster from the ICC World Cup. They beat South Africa, Bangladesh, and the Caribbeans at home in all formats and will play Sri Lanka and Australia in limited-over series next. The Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Assam Cricket Association put up strong security in place for the cricketers in the state which is witnessing disturbance. The local cricket body said everything was under control.

“Yes, there was some unrest before, but all is under control now. We have handed over the stadium and all other responsibility with regards to the two teams to the police and they are keeping an eye to ensure that everything is under control,” India Today cited agencies quoting ACA president Romen Dutta as saying.

There was, however, confusion over the Indian squad’s arrival in Guwahati. While the ACA chief said the home team will reach on Friday morning, members of the squad confirmed that they were assembling on Thursday night.