Kerala willing to host IPL matches this season

The Kerala Cricket Association are giving their best efforts to stage a few Indian Premier League matches this year, given that the state has controlled the COVID-19 pandemic quite successfully so far.

The Kerala Cricket Association have approached the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) to seek permission to play cricket at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kaloor. The KCA has also been encouraged by the proposed shifting of a few ISL matches of Kerala Blasters to Kozhikode.

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It has also been a favourable factor for the KCA that the BCCI joint secretary, Jayesh George is from Kerala itself. KCA had deposited Rs 1 crore with the GCDA in 2017 as advance payment for hosting matches in the stadium. But the KCA had to give the venue away to host the FIFA Under-17 World Cup matches that year and since then no cricket has been played at the stadium.
The KCA had also spent some money to renovate the venue and now they are hoping that few IPL matches and international matches can be held in Kochi so that big time cricket returns to the city. At present, Greenfield Stadium at Thiruvananthapuram is the lone international venue in Kerala.

Although, they do not have a local IPL franchise, Kerala have hosted quite a few IPL matches in the past. The Kochi Tuskers Kerala were part of the IPL in the 2011 edition.

The BCCI are trying to put in their best efforts to stage the IPL at some point of time this year. With doubts looming over the T20 World Cup scheduled to be held this October, as Cricket Australia had mailed ICC citing its inability to host the event, the BCCI have been aiming for that window ever since.

SOURCE: MyKhel