New Delhi: The Cauvery water dispute has forced the BCCI to shift Chennai Super Kings' remaining home games to Pune as the state administration expressed inability to ensure adequate security arrangements for the Indian Premier League matches.

"The matches had to be shifted out of Chennai as police had said that they were unable to provide security in the prevailing situation. CSK is not averse to shifting base to Pune," IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said.

There were already calls by various groups not to host cricket matches in Chennai when the state was facing such a grave situation. Massive protests were witnessed on Tuesday ahead of the match between the Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders and an protestor flung a shoe at Ravindra Jadeja during the match.

While there was no confirmation that the shoe-throwing incident was directly related to the Cauvery river water issue, it was the likely cause.

The BCCI had short-listed four cities to host matches but eventually Pune was finalised since the Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was familiar with the conditions having played two seasons there with Rising Pune Supergiant.

Shukla had also spoken to the Union home secretary on Tuesday, seeking government intervention in smooth conduct of matches in Chennai.

The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) chief Vinod Rai had earlier said that the prevailing situation had forced them to explore options and they had kept four alternative venues ready.

Apart from Pune, Visakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram, and Rajkot were selected as stand-by venues.

Asked why Pune was selected, a source said that captain Dhoni knew the conditions well and logistically it made sense to have Pune as the venue instead of Visakhapatnam.

"There are only a few direct flights available from Vizag. If the team has to travel to Indore, then they had to reach Indore via Delhi. Pune has better connectivity, so it was decided that the Super Kings shift base to Pune," the source said.

Meanwhile, an official of the Maharashtra Cricket Association said they are ready to host matches. "We were in touch with BCCI as well franchise officials. We are prepared for the challenge as the match is to be hosted in a just few days," said the official who did not wish to be quoted.

The organisers have a few days to put arrangements in place as the Super Kings play their next home game on April 20 against Rajasthan Royals.

The Super Kings have made a comeback to the league after serving two-year suspension for its alleged role in the 2013-spot fixing scandal. PTI