Hyderabad: The Telangana versus united Andhra Pradesh stir has hit cricket too with the second One-Day International match between India and Sri Lanka scheduled to be played in Vishakapatanam on December 18 being shifted to Nagpur.
BCCI Chief Secretary Ratnakar Shetty said that the decision on an alternate venue for the second ODI will be taken soon.
"BCCI office bearers are discussing the situation. We are discussing few options. An official release will be given out soon. I am sure the match will be conducted successfully at whichever venue that will be decided," said Shetty.
Vishakapatanam administration has expressed its inability to provide enough security for the India-Sri Lanka ODI with the Commissioner citing law and order as the main reason.
"The prevailing situation is such that all city police have been deployed for maintenance of regular law & order. Almost 80 per cent of the regular force is required for the conduct of the ODI. We had conveyed to the local match organisers that it will not be possible for us to provide security," Vishakhapatanam Police Commissioner N Sambasiva Rao told CNN-IBN.
"We cannot predict the turn of event. If the scenario doesn't change we will not be able to commit security forces. The city is by and large peaceful, and student leaders are cooperative. The protest is visible but peaceful," said Rao.
The Commissioner has also spoken to Vishakapatanam Cricket Association about the security aspect.
Even though the Andhra Cricket Association has not sent any official communication to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) but some Under-16 and Under-19 games scheduled to be held in the port city have been cancelled.
Andhra Pradesh has been on the boil ever since Home Minister P Chidambaram said that the process for the formation of a separate state of Telangana would be initiated and a resolution would be moved in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly.
Political parties on coastal Andhra and Rayalseema are against the division of the state and have been protesting violently for the past few days.
The Home Minister's announcement came after Telangana Rashtra Samithi President K Chandrasekhar Rao went on a fast unto death demanding the creation of Telangana.
Chidambaram's announcement stoked a political furore in the state with even the ruling Congress party divided over the issue.
Hyderabad: The Telangana versus united Andhra Pradesh stir has hit cricket too with the second One-Day International match between India and Sri Lanka scheduled to be played in Vishakapatanam on December 18 being shifted to Nagpur.
