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The Gujarat Cricket Association debunked the reports of terror threats to Royal Challengers Bengaluru and clarified the real reason behind cancelling their practice session. The Faf du Plessis-led side is set to clash against Rajasthan Royals for the Eliminator of the IPL 2024 on May 22, Wednesday, at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. Ahead of the game, the Bengaluru-based franchise cancelled their only practice session.
There were rumours that the session was called off due to terror threats to the franchise and the scheduled game. However, the Gujarat Cricket Association released an official statement, denying the rumours while issuing the real reason the session got cancelled. The GCA Chief Anil Patel told TOI, "There was no terror threat. We had made provision for both the Rajasthan Royals and RCB to practice at the Gujarat College ground.”
“RCB were supposed to practice from 2 to 5 pm, before they changed it to 3-6 pm, as the light is good till 6.30 pm in the summer in Ahmedabad. However, the Rajasthan Royals practised from 3.30 to 6.30 pm at the Gujarat College ground with their full squad. RCB skipped their practice session due to the prevailing heat wave in the city. We had told RCB that they could use the indoor practice facility there, or at the Indoor facility at the Narendra Modi Stadium. However, RCB didn't want to practice because of the heatwave.”
Apart from this, a BCCI source rubbished the rumours about terror threats to the Eliminator. He said, “There was never a presser scheduled before this match, as there was already the first qualifier (between Kolkata Knight Riders and SunRisers Hyderabad) being played yesterday at the Narendra Modi Stadium. In any case, it’s not unusual for teams to not have practice sessions at this late stage of the tournament, as they try and remain fresh for the match after a long campaign.”
