IPL final moved from Eden? Where will the trophy battle be held on June 3?
The nightmares have materialized. The IPL final will most probably be relocated from Kolkata. The final will be played in Ahmedabad on June 3. The second qualifier on June 1 will also be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The first qualifier and eliminator can be played at Punjab's new ground, Mullanpur. These two games will be played on May 29 and 30.
If the two play-off games are shifted, no more IPL games will be played in Kolkata this season. There will also be one more game shifted from Bengaluru. The league stage game of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad will be played in Lucknow on May 23. Since there are chances of rain, this game is also being shifted to Lucknow.
This time the timetable drawn up at the beginning of the IPL saw the second qualifier and the final being held at Eden on May 23 and May 25. KKR were the previous time's champions.
Following tradition, the final and the opening match are played at the venue of the last year's champion team. Secondly, there is a negligible gap of days between the second qualifier and the final, and hence, both matches are arranged for the same ground.
The scenario has been altered after the IPL was shut down for seven days because of the India-Pakistan conflict.
According to the new itinerary of the IPL, the final takes place on June 3. A prediction of thunderstorms is made for Kolkata on that day. There is a 65 percent chance of rain for Kolkata on that day. The origin of this 'news' is an American private app. No such prediction has been provided by the Alipore Meteorological Department or the Delhi Meteorological Department.
A letter was addressed to the BCCI asking for the final and second qualifier to be played in Kolkata. CAB president Sourav Ganguly, former BCCI president, also had expressed hope some days ago that the match would not be shifted from Kolkata.
