In what could be a blow to Rajasthan Royals’ plans of hosting a couple of their home games in Guwahati for the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Rajasthan High Court has deferred their hearing to March 17. The High Court was expected to give a decision on the PIL that has challenged the decision of Rajasthan Royals to shift a couple of their home games on Thursday.
The BCCI has backed the Royals and made it clear that they have not broken any rules in requesting for a second home venue. Royals play Chennai Super Kings away on April 2 and are scheduled to play in either Jaipur or Guwahati on April 5 against Delhi Capitals, according to the IPL fixtures released a few days back.
Then again on April 9, Royals host Kolkata Knight Riders in Jaipur or Guwahati. Now with the date of the hearing postponed, it could become a logistical challenge for the inaugural champions as they prepare for the season.
Earlier, when contacted by IANS, a Royals official had made it clear that the move to shift a couple of its games to Guwahati was done keeping in mind a number of factors and it wasn’t just aimed at generating more revenues.
“See, there is no denying the fact that the revenues generated is an area of concern. But then, that isn’t the sole reason behind us wanting to play a few home games in Guwahati. We are also looking at spreading the game to the city and northeast in general. We do have a lot of Rajasthan origin people in Guwahati and we feel that it would be a nice idea to give them an opportunity to witness their favourite players live in action.
“This apart, we are looking at working at the grassroots level in the northeast and in the coming time, you may see academies being started by us there. So, we are looking at taking the game to the locals there and not to forget our local hero Riyan Parag. We have nothing against anyone and we are positive that the court will understand that we aren’t trying to hurt any sentiment by moving a couple of our games from Jaipur to Guwahati,” the official told IANS.
