Shifting IPL matches out of Maharashtra not easy: Shukla

Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Rajiv Shukla said today that if the scheduled cricket matches are to be shifted out of Maharashtra as suggested by the Bombay High Court due to the water crisis, it could be a major setback for the tournament.

Speaking to ANI, Shukla said that all arrangements are in place and changing the venue at the last moment would be very difficult.

On Wednesday, lashing out at the Maharashtra government over the wastage of water for maintaining pitches during the IPL, the Bombay High Court said that the people were far more important than a cricket tournament.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai Cricket Association has said that they will have to speak to the Indian cricket board regarding the issue, and at the same time clarified that they themselves are very sensitive about the drought in the state.

A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed regarding the same, which also demanded extra charges be levied on IPL organizers to meet the expenses for sending water to crisis-hit areas.

Earlier, IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla ruled out shifting the matches out of Maharashtra due to drought and water scarcity in the state.

There is demand from some quarters that IPL matches should not be played in the state as the preparation of grounds requires huge amounts of water.

A PIL filed in the High Court on Tuesday sought a direction to the IPL chairman to pay tax on usage of water, claiming that about 60,000 litres of water would be needed every day to maintain the pitches.

Mumbai Bharatiya Janata Party secretary Vivekananda Gupta too had demanded that IPL matches be shifted out of the state.

The annual T20 extravaganza would kick off on 9 April in Mumbai.