Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
The much-anticipated Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 is set to get underway on Saturday, March 22 with defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) taking Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the opening clash at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. While the three-time champions will eye for another title with their new-looking squad, under the captaincy of Ajinkya Rahane, their clash against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) haven’t yet received a go ahead.
According to reports making rounds, KKR’s fifth match, where they will host LSG at the Eden Gardens on April 6 is set to be rescheduled due to Ram Navami celebrations. On the auspicious occasion, West Bengal is set to host over 20,000 processions with majority of them being held in Kolkata.
KKR vs LSG IPL 2025 likely to be rescheduled due to security concerns
The reports further add that the city police has not yet given security clearance as the security requirements will be widespread due to the celebration of Ram Navami. Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) President, Snehasish Ganguly after holding two rounds of discussions with the police officials, on Tuesday confirmed that authorities “have not given a go-ahead” for the match.
"They have categorically said they won't be able to provide adequate security. If there's no police protection, accommodating a 65,000-strong crowd becomes impossible," Snehasish said. "We have informed the BCCI, and there is still time to take a final call. Even last year, a scheduled IPL match on Ram Navami had to be rescheduled," Ganguly recalled.
It is to be noted that in IPL 2024, the match between KKR and Rajasthan Royals (RR) was also rescheduled due to a similar scenario. While the KKR vs LSG is set to be the defending champions fifth match in IPL 2025, it will be their third at their home turf in the upcoming edition.
