UP T-20 League snatched from Kanpur, Ekana of Lucknow got hosting, why was this decision taken?

Kanpur: The historic Greenpark Stadium of Kanpur city has once again suffered a major setback. The preparations for hosting the fourth season of the UP T-20 League, which were going on in full swing here, have now been snatched from Kanpur and reached Lucknow. In the meeting of Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) held in Delhi, it was decided that this time all the matches of the league starting from August 14 will be held at Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. However, its official announcement is likely to be made in a day or two.

A few days ago, UP T-20 League Chairman Dr. Sanjay Kapoor and senior officials of UPCA, in a press conference in Kanpur, had said with full confidence that the fourth season of the league will be played at Greenpark Stadium from August 14 to September 6. After this, preparations for the event were also started. But now suddenly it was decided to shift the entire tournament to Lucknow. Due to this, questions are also being raised on the functioning of UPCA. Cricket lovers say that when the shortcomings of Green Park were already known, then why was the event announced in Kanpur.

Rent of Rs 5 crore and shortcomings of the stadium became the reason
According to sources, the Sports Department had fixed the rent for organizing the UP T-20 League at Greenpark Stadium at around Rs 5 crore. Apart from this, under the new mandate, a fee of Rs 2.5 lakh per match was also fixed. It is being told that UPCA did not agree to these conditions. At the same time, the poor drainage system of the stadium during the rainy season and the dilapidated condition of the C balcony were also considered to be the major reasons. Due to all these reasons, it was decided to shift the tournament to Ekana Stadium.

Displeasure among cricket lovers of Kanpur
There is a lot of anger among the cricket lovers of the city after the news of snatching the league from Green Park. He says that the most historic cricket ground of Uttar Pradesh is continuously being kept away from big events. People allege that UPCA first promoted the event in Kanpur and now changed the decision at the last moment. This has dealt a blow to the expectations of players, spectators and people associated with local cricket. People have demanded from the government to improve the facilities of Green Park soon and from UPCA to maintain transparency in such decisions in future.

Speculations started starting after the letter from the Sports Department.
A few days ago, the Sports Department had sent a letter to UPCA asking it to deposit a fee of Rs 5 crore for the use of Greenpark Stadium. From that time onwards the discussion had started that if the fee and other conditions were not agreed then the UP T-20 League could move out of Kanpur. Now after the meeting held in Delhi, this apprehension seems to be proved correct. UPCA Secretary Prem Manohar Gupta has confirmed that in the meeting held in Delhi, the decision to hold the league in Lucknow has been taken. He said that its official announcement is yet to be made and formal information will be released by UPCA in a day or two.