IPL 2019 | Kolkata Knight Riders hopeful of playing all home matches at Eden Gardens

With the general elections scheduled to be held between April 11 and May 19, this year, there is no clarity regarding the scheduling of the IPL matches. The BCCI had earlier announced the schedule only for the first couple of weeks while the election dates were announced earlier this week. West Bengal will have elections in seven different phases and there are possibilities of shifting some of the KKR’s home matches to neutral venues. The elections in Bengal will be held on April 11, 18, 23, 29, May 6, 12 and 19. 

However, the CEO of the franchise has expressed that he is quite hopeful after a meeting with the concerned authorities regarding playing the home games at the historic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

"We have had some good meetings with the concerned authorities today, so fingers crossed. We are waiting for some clarification. I think they (authorities) are very keen to make sure that we play in Eden. If all goes well, we will play our home games here only," Mysore told reporters at the Eden Gardens, reported PTI.

"Now that the date of the elections have come out, the authorities are taking a hard look at how they can ensure we play as many as possible matches in Kolkata.”

The BCCI had organised the entire second edition of the league in 2009 during elections in South Africa while the 2014 edition was played in the UAE and India in parts. KKR still had to organise one of their home matches against Mumbai Indians at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack in the seventh edition of the league owing to security concerns during the Lok Sabha election in West Bengal. 

"In case we cannot play at the Eden, then we have a plan B and plan C ready. We had a meeting today. Let's see. All our fans as well as the team wants us play at the Eden," Mysore explained.

Cricket FootBall Kabaddi

Basketball Hockey

SportsCafe