With India set to host the West Indies for three-match Twenty-20 International (T20I) and One Day International (ODI) series from December 6, the first T20I at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai seems to be hanging under the dark clouds of uncertainty.
According to a report in PTI, the Mumbai Police have expressed that they would be unable to provide adequate security cover to the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) on the match day.
The development comes after the Supreme Court of India announced its verdict on the disputed Ayodhya land on November 9.
December 6 marks the first anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid after the historic verdict by the apex court and the death anniversary of Dr. BR Ambedkar.
On Ambedkar’s memory, lakhs of his supporters gather at Chaityabhumi in suburban Dadar to celebrate ”Mahaprinirvan Din”.
“As police will be busy in maintaining law and order in the city, they may not be able to give security cover to the game,” police sources were quoted as saying by PTI.
The report also suggested that the final call on the matter could be taken on Thursday when the senior officials of the MCA would meet the police commissioner of Mumbai Sanjay Barve.
Police officials on Wednesday met apex council members of the MCA at its headquarters in Mumbai and discussed the issue in detail. It has also been reported that the MCA will have options to hire private security on the match day.
According to MCA officials, usually, somewhere between 1000 and 1200 security personnel are needed for an international fixture.
The MCA is also considering the idea of swapping the match with the third T20I, to be played in Hyderabad on December 11.
Earlier in 2018 due to administrative problems in MCA, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had moved a ODI between India and the West Indies to the Brabourne Stadium, managed by the Cricket Club of India (CCI).
After the three T20Is, scheduled to be played in Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram and Hyderabad respectively, India and the West Indies will play three ODIs. The first will be played in Chennai, followed by the second in Visakhapatnam and the third in Cuttack.