IPL 2019 | Delhi Capitalsā€™ supporters rejected entry at team practice for security reasons

IPL 2019 | Delhi Capitalsā€™ supporters rejected entry at team practice for security reasons

no photo

|

BCCI

The fans and supporters of the renamed Delhi Capitals team have been barred from coming to the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium to watch the practice sessions due to security concerns. Shreyas Iyer-led Capitals will begin their 2019 campaign on Sunday against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium.

Earlier this week, almost 12,000 fans had turned up at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium at Chepauk in Chennai when MS Dhoniā€™s Chennai Super Kings played an inter-squad practice game. However, renamed Delhi Capitals have already played two practice games this season at the Feroz Shah Kotla but had to do so in front of empty seats as fans were not allowed to enter the premises.

There was a decent queue outside the stadium in Delhi during both the practice games on Sunday and Wednesday. The issue for Delhi Capitals is the lack of security clearance from the local police.

"We too would have loved to see the fans to come in and watch the games as this is a time when the players are relaxed and they even look to interact with the fans. But the problem was lack of clearance from the police. Security is of paramount importance and that can't be sacrificed at any cost. But in the future we will look to work this out because fans make the players who they are and we as a franchise also wish to create a loyal fan base like other teams," a Delhi Capitals official told IANS.

Earlier, Delhi Capitals CEO Dhiraj Malhotra had also revealed that the franchise is looking to work on building a fan base like that of Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders.

"It is the first season for us (JSW has become co-owners this season) and the biggest thing is to build a big fan base. There is so much diversity that it is very difficult to create that feeling of belonging for the team. We do wish to do very well and we have the team to do well. We are stressing on performance and building a fan base. We want the people of Delhi to feel that this is their team," Malhotra told IANS.

Cricket FootBall Kabaddi

Basketball Hockey

SportsCafe

Get updates! Follow us on

Open all