The BCCI’s decision to shift the Indian Premier League finals from the Eden Gardens to the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad has sparked a fresh row between the Bengal’s ruling Trinamool and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
On Thursday afternoon, Aroop Biswas, state sports minister and one of the closest aides of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, side produced forecasts made by the Met department to pin the BCCI’s reasons behind shifting the high-profile match.
The city’s police commissioner Manoj Verma was by Biswas’ side.
“It is to inform that city forecast for Kolkata for May 20 to May 30 will be available from May 14 onwards,” Biswas said addressing a news conference, reading aloud from a sheet in front of him. “This office issues the forecast for Kolkata for seven days in advance.”
Minister Biswas said the IMD has weather forecast for June 1 when the first qualifier is scheduled and the June 3 finals cannot be made more than a week in advance.
“The forecast for June 1 will be available from May 26 onwards. The IMD has informed that their office has not issued any forecast for Kolkata city for the first week of June. Since when have the BCCI and IPL governing council turned into weathermen?”
The BCCI had cited the onset of southwest monsoon and the unpredictable cloudbursts in southern and eastern India as the reason behind the decision to shift the venues for the playoffs and the final.
New Chandigarh and Ahmedabad were selected for the qualifier 1 and the final because of the lowest possible chance of precipitation.
“It is evident that Bengal’s cricket lovers are being deprived by moving out the match from the hallowed Eden Gardens,” said Biswas.
The Cricket Association of Bengal too had sent a report from the India Meteorological Department citing that around June 3 dry weather was predicted in the region, though the BCCI did not want to take chances.
Following minister Biswas’ claim, doubts have cropped against the data from IMD that the CAB had claimed to share with the BCCI to bolster its claim on retaining the finals at the Eden Gardens.