The Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) has given the much-needed assurance to the fans, who were eagerly looking at India and Afghanistan’s T20I series commencing in Delhi on Sunday, but there is still some uncertainty in the background.
The DDCA has issued a statement saying that the first T20 International will still take place on September 13 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. It followed some talks with Delhi Traffic Police and it said arrangements would be made to hold the match in accordance with the plan. But it’s not a done deal.
Planning for the BRICS Summit has thrown up logistical challenges in the city and earlier, security officials had asked the match to be rethought due to the need for a large traffic management exercise for foreign guests and the movement of VIPs.
It’s not only about cricket, it’s the concern of managing the city on that very same day.
The communication released by the Delhi Traffic Police says that the match is likely to see anywhere between 25,000 and 35,000 fans, along with thousands of vehicles and pedestrians, that already frequent the area on a daily basis.
Roads in the vicinity of the stadium, such as DDU Marg, BSZ Marg, Minto Road and Kamala Market, are likely to experience further traffic congestion due to the road traffic diversions, parking and security measures related to both matches.
The DDCA’s statement indicates that Sunday is still the preferred date, but that doesn’t mean that the alternative date is completely gone.
The one option being considered is to shift the opening game to September 14, the day of Ganesh Chaturthi. The change would give organisers some relief on the operations, but not make many changes to the rest of the fixtures.
The other two games in the series are already scheduled for September 15 and 17, so any changes to the first game would need to be carefully handled to not disrupt the rest of the series.
As of yet, there is no official announcement of a new date.
Afghanistan Cricket Board, which is co-ordinating the series with Indian authorities, has not said anything about the deal. Despite the fact that the late change of dates is still not ruled out, the official stance now is that the India-Afghanistan match will be played in Delhi on September 13.