Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season, state associations have received strict guidelines from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about how to use their facilities. The relevant state organizations have actually been told by the BCCI not to permit the IPL franchises to use these venues at all. In essence, the BCCI wants to guarantee that IPL stadiums are immaculate and that the outfields are kept in "ideal conditions." In this context, the board has also directed the state associations to prohibit private celebrity events, including Legends League games, from taking place on the grounds.
BCCI's directive to the state association
"We would like to clarify the following regarding the usage of grounds before the IPL," a BCCI mail, sent on Friday to all the IPL centres.
"1. The main square and the outfield may be used for the Ranji Trophy knockout matches, should any be scheduled at your venue.
2. Under no circumstances, the main square and outfield be used for any local matches, legends league, celebrity cricket or provided to the IPL franchises for practice sessions."
"This is essential to preserve the pitch and outfield in prime conditions for the IPL matches," BCCI directives stated.
The correspondence has been sent to all of the state units, which are the main IPL venues: the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA), Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA), Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA), Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), and Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA). A few IPL matches are also anticipated to be held in Guwahati (for RR games) and Dharamsala (for Punjab games). The letters have probably also been received by the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) and the Assam Cricket Association (ACA).
Only the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, an IPL venue, is being used for the competition while the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals are currently being held in Kolkata, Pune, Rajkot, and Nagpur. However, the BCCI has given advance warning to all parties involved that several IPL venues may be used for the premier first-class domestic tournament's semifinals and final. Naturally, the directive might have interfered with the plans of a number of IPL teams. Before the event, which is set to start on March 24, they had planned to use the fields for practice. Given that there are no practice grounds outside of Wankhede, as is the case at Eden Gardens in Kolkata and a few other locations, it will be interesting to observe how the MCA reacts to the mandate.