The venue, which had hosted Royal Challengers Bangalore’s last league match against Mumbai Indians on Saturday amid bomb scares, was going to be the centre point with the two semi-finals scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
But the detection of two more live bombs on Sunday morning, one at the main entrance where players and VIPs enter, led to the decision to shift the semi-finals out of the city. The two semis will now be played at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, also the venue for the third-place playoff and the final.
Bengaluru police commissioner Shankar Bidari, who had a meeting with top officials of the Indian cricket board, Karnataka State Cricket Association and the IPL security agency, promised that security would be stepped up so that the matches could be held in the city. But after more explosives were found just outside the stadium, IPL officials took little time to decide to move the semis to Navi Mumbai.
IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, in Dubai for an International Cricket Council meeting, said the “deteriorating situation” forced IPL to shift the matches. “We don’t want to take any chances. We want to ensure the safety of our players and spectators alike,” he said in a statement.
“While reluctant to relocate the semi-finals at such short notice, yesterday’s incidents have made it clear that the current environment in Bangalore prevents us from continuing with our original plans. The incidents were assessed by local police and the IPL’s security agency as being of a minor nature, but it has forced our hand,” he added.
Mr Modi was confident that the D.Y. Patil Stadium will be ready in time for the matches. “Logistics is really a big task, but we are working round the clock. We will make sure everything is in place. Despite this setback, we’re confident the semi-finals and finals will be successfully contested,” the IPL commissioner noted.
Sunday was always going to be big day for the Bengaluru police ahead of Wednesday’s first semi-final, but the detection of two more live bombs aggravated security concerns. Police sources said all the explosives, including the two detected on Sunday, were planted either on Friday night or Saturday morning.
Mr Bidari said it was “unfair” on the part of IPL to move the matches out of the city. “If they don’t revise the decision to shift, I am afraid BCCI will be committing a serious mistake and will be tarnishing the fair name of a secure city like Bangalore,” the police chief said.
Age Correspondent