Nagpur, April 17
The cricket fans in Orange City are disappointed as they will not be able to experience the thrill of the ICC-Twenty-20 World Cup that is slated to be held in November.
As per reports, the BCCI apex council has picked up nine venues including Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Dharamsala, Ahmedabad and Lucknow and left out Nagpur. This year will see the entry of three new venues in Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Chennai and Hyderabad. The four venues had not hosted the matches in the 2016 edition of the T20 World Cup held in India.
The final of the T20 World Cup 2021 will be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
It may be mentioned here that during 2016 Twenty-20 World Cup the Orange City had hosted as many as nine matches including Zimbabwe- Hong Kong, Afghanistan-Scotland, Zimbabwe-Scotland, Hong Kong-Scotland, India-New Zealand, South Africa- West Indies and Afghanistan -West Indies. This time also the Nagpurians were expecting some matches of their favourite games.
Talking to Lokmat Times Vidarbha Cricket Association president Advocate Anand Jaiswal said, " This time the situation is very extraordinary due to Covid. We have all cricketing facilities but what about the availability of hotels, air connectivity etc. Before deciding the venues the ICC may have taken these things into consideration. The reputation of the country is at stake while hosting such events. Therefore, fans should not be disappointed but should see how smoothly the World Cup can happen".
However, one of the VCA officials on the condition of anonymity said the VCA may get some qualifying matches to host.