The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) has still not officially received the Government Order (GO) renewing the lease for the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.
And then the TNCA faces a slew of challenges before reopening the I, J and K stands for the first ODI between India and the West Indies on December 15.
However, TNCA secretary R.S. Ramaswamy remained confident. He told Sportstar on Saturday, “We are hopeful of getting the GO on Monday. After that, the matter will move to the revenue department who will raise the demand for the lease payment.”
He added, “We have to pay Rs. 19.16 crore in arrears and Rs. 3 crore or 5 per cent of our gross income, whichever is higher, every year.”
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The lease payment has to be made and there could be potential procedural delays. Then, the TNCA will have to move the High Court for the reopening of the three stands.
With just over 20 days remaining for the ODI, it could get tight for the TNCA. “It will be cutting it fine but we think we can get it done,” said Ramaswamy.
Firstly, the matter will be before the High Court and it could be hard to set a time frame. After that - the TNCA will be hoping for the court verdict to be favourable - the cricket body has to demolish the Madras Cricket Club (MCC) gym to create the required setback space between the K stand the MCC.
Once that is done, the stands, shut down for years, will have to be sanitised. “We will need three to four days to clean the stands,” said Mr. Ramaswamy.
So, for the fans to fill the three stands for the India-West Indies game, some more hurdles have to be cleared.
The TNCA still has a job on its hands. It will be a race against time.
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