Amid the Punjab Police’s hunt for the fugitive pro-Khalistani ultra Amritpal Singh, Punjab, with its rich sporting history, appears to have lost the race to host matches in the forthcoming 2023 One-Day International (ODI) World Cup, which will be held in India.
In the latest development, reports suggested that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has kept the once-famous stadium out of the possible venues that will host the 2023 One-Day International (ODI) World Cup.
According to the cricket website, ESPNcricinfo, the 10-team tournament will start on October 5 and the final will be played at the majestic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19.
Apart from Ahmedabad, which boasts the world’s largest cricket stadium, 11 other Indian cities are shortlisted as venues for the Indian Cricket Board.
The shortlisted venues included Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore, Rajkot and Mumbai, the report said.
The news comes as Punjab Police intensified their chase for the fugitive radical preacher Amritpal Singh. His pro-Khalistani Waris Punjab De outfit had recently caught the limelight when its members attacked the Ajnala police station in Amritsar district brandishing weapons in February this year.
They were demanding the release of one of the members who was arrested in a kidnapping case. Amritpal Singh and his henchmen broke the barricades and vandalized the police station, injuring at least six police personnel in the brazen display of hooliganism.
The antics of Amritpal Singh and his henchmen raised the fear of reviving the terror of the Khalistani movement that grappled the state from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s, despite Punjab Police’s best effort to crush any such fear.
Once one of the key venues in the country, Mohali appeared to have lost the race as it fell behind with new stadiums rising with better facilities.
The venue also came under criticism after reports of gross mismanagement and controversies, with ticket holders unable to get inside the stadium, during the India-Australia T20I.
Incidentally, the stadium was hosting an international match after a gap of three years.
According to the ESPNcricinfo report, the tournament will comprise 48 matches, including three knockouts, over a 46-day period.