Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao has requested BCCI to include Hyderabad as one of the hosts for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. He posted a tweet and tagged BCCI while urging them to give some matches to Hyderabad.
Rama Rao said there are a very low number of Covid-19 cases in the city. He posted a tweet after the reports of BCCI picking only six cities to host the upcoming IPL season.
"Open appeal to @BCCI and @IPL office bearers to include Hyderabad as one of the venues for upcoming IPL season. Our effective COVID containment measures are reflected in our low number of cases among all metro cities in India & we assure you of all support from the Govt," the tweet read.
The tournament is set to begin in the second week of April and the final will be played in June this year. Earlier, the plan was to let Pune and Mumbai host the group stage matches.
But now BCCI is thinking about shortlisting six cities – Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata – to host the tournament, according to a report in The Times of India.
The playoff matches will be played in the newly renovated Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
As per reports, the franchises are not in favor of the new idea. They felt hosting the tournament in only two cities was better.
“Obviously, it’s scary. The earlier idea of hosting it in one or two cities sounded far better. After all, the 2020 edition was conducted between three venues and it went well,” a franchise representative said.