Hayer, in his letter, expressed issues over the alleged political interference within the scheduling course of and demanded readability on the decision-making course of.
Mohali, a famend Indian venue, boasts a formidable cricketing historical past, having hosted two ODI World Cup semi-finals in 1996 (Australia vs. West Indies) and 2011 (India vs. Pakistan), together with quite a few different important ICC matches over time. In his correspondence, Minister Hayer highlighted Punjab’s excellent sports activities infrastructure and identified the IS Bindra stadium’s distinction as a bunch for high-profile matches, together with two encounters throughout the 2016 World T20.Ever for the reason that ICC and the BCCI introduced the World Cup schedule, some opposition social gathering leaders alleged that there was political interference in scheduling, questioning why Ahmedabad is getting big-ticket matches over many different venues.
The Punjab Minister additionally made a point out of BCCI vice chairman Rajiv Shukla’s assertion within the media and mentioned that Shukla had mentioned that the PCA Mohali stadium “does not meet the criteria of the ICC to hold the match.”
Hayer mentioned he needed to know what was the ICC standards based mostly on which Mohali was thought-about ineligible for the cricket world cup match.
“Apart from this, any change made in the norms at present should also be brought to light as the India -Australia International T20 match was played in September 2022. Besides, ODI World Cup matches including two Semi Finals were also played in the past,” he wrote in his letter.
It must also be said whether or not the ICC staff visited the Mohali Stadium to examine the requirements, he requested.
“PCA Stadium Mohali is not only one of the top stadiums in India but also comes in the list of prominent stadiums in the world. Mohali is always the first choice of cricket fans. Mohali has an international airport and the city also has better infrastructure and adequate hotels for the teams to stay,” he famous.
The minister additional wrote that Punjab is famend all through the size and breadth of the globe for its age-old traditions of peerless bravery, unmatched hospitality and unwavering religion in secular beliefs.
In the sporting area too, Punjab has the excellence of being frontrunner and flag bearer of the nation.
“When it comes to cricket, Punjab has the honour of producing legends like Lala Amarnath, Bishan Singh Bedi, Mohinder Amarnath, Yashpal Sharma, Madan Lal, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Reetinder Sodhi, Dinesh Mongla, Harvinder Singh, Vikram Rathore, Sharandeep Singh and the latest sensations Shubman Gill and Arshdeep Singh, the list is endless,” he mentioned.
“I have full confidence that justice would be done to Punjab in this matter of utmost urgency,” he wrote.
(With inputs from PTI)
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com