Bengaluru emerges as alternate venue for IND-SA women series as Greenfield set to host Army recruitment rally
Women's cricket is set to resume in India
|The India-South Africa women's series has hit a roadblock as the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) declined to stage the eight games in Trivandrum following a conflicting scenario with the owners of the venue. That has brought Bengaluru into the picture as they might host the series now.
After the euphoria of March 8, 2020, when India played Australia in front of a packed MCG crowd, the women's team are out of action with many restarts planning going out of the window. However, the players recently got a big breakthrough to their hopes when the BCCI announced a series against South Africa at home, with the Greenfield Stadium in Trivandrum being the possible venue.
However, the KCA has now turned down the offer as the ground has beenĀ allocated to host a two-week army recruitment rally by theĀ IL&FS, the owners of the ground. They did so without consulting the KCA and even though KCA received all permissions from the state government, now they are unable to host the event.
"We were supposed to hold the series here but now we're having some trouble with IL&FS, the owners of the ground. They've already given the stadium for a recruitment rally without informing us," Krishna Prasad, the KCA spokesperson, told Cricbuzz on Monday.
"We'd been trying to get the confirmation from the authorities for the last two weeks now. And so far we've got nothing from either the government or IL&FS. We're going to write to IL&FS because this is our time [cricket season]. They were supposed to inform us. If we don't have the matches they can give the stadium for other activities. But when we're planning to host some games, we need the stadium available to us."
Currently,Ā the association has an agreement with the IF&LS to have the Greenfield Stadium on lease until November 2027 and the board is responsible for the maintenance of the playing area inside the stadium.Ā
"The BCCI is waiting for our confirmation to host the matches. But we cannot confirm because we don't have the stadium with us right now. And after the recruitment rally is over, the outfield may not be in the best shape to host an international series. We'll likely write to BCCI by the end of the day expressing our inability to host these games," Prasad said.
Now KSCA have emerged as the possible alternative for the series, with them also hosting the Vijay Hazare Trophy at their Alur Facility. In that scenario, the Chinaswammy Stadium might host the Women's series.
