Reports - BCCI shifts Kotla ODI against New Zealand due to Karva Chauth
Surprising as it may sound, the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) has come up with a rather offbeat excuse in requesting the change of date for the match between India and New Zealand at Delhi’s Ferozeshah Kotla stadium to be played on October 19. The DDCA explained its lack of ability to host the day-night international between the two teams because of the Karva Chauth festival.
Karva Chauth involves women fasting from sunrise to moonrise as a ritual. The fast is broken only after their husbands offer them their first bite of food for the day. Due to this, not many people would turn up for the match and the ticket sales would have taken a hit, feels the DDCA.
In a letter penned down by the DDCA and BCCI vice-president CK Khanna to BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke, the former has stated that, “This is again to request you as per our discussion held in Mumbai during the Working Committee meeting and two days after the Special General Body Meeting that Karva Chauth is falling on October 19, the day the DDCA has been allotted the match between India and New Zealand.
“It will be very difficult to hold the match since this festival is celebrated in most of the families in Delhi. This is to request you to get this date changed.”
Also Read: 5 reasons why India should not prepare rank turners against New Zealand
The BCCI approved the request and postponed the match by a day. The game will be played on October 20.
“We are thankful to the BCCI for accepting our request of shifting the date by a day. I have received a letter of acknowledgement for the same from the back office," Khanna told PTI.
Karva Chauth is one of the main festivals in North India. While it may hamper the ticket sales to an extent, the actual reason behind the change of date could be internal politics of the DDCA too. One faction of the committee, led by Khanna and Sneh Prakash Bansal, doesn’t want the match to take place, while the other group, led by Chetan Chauhan, is against joining of hands between Bansal and Khanna.
New Zealand is all set to tour India for 3 Tests and 5 ODI matches. The historic Green Park stadium in Kanpur will host the first Test between from September 22, starting a 13-Test 2016-17 home season of cricket for India, which will also include visits from England, Australia and Bangladesh.