Heartbreak for fans as IPL final & qualifier move out of Kolkata
Times of India | 21 May 2025
12 Kolkata: City IPL fans are devastated after the IPL final and Qualifier 2, which were scheduled to be held at Eden Gardens next week, were moved to Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium due to fears of rain disrupting the matches. With the home team, KKR, already knocked out of the tournament, this was a double blow for the fans who are set to miss high-octane matches possibly featuring RCB, PBKS, and GT — the three teams that have already made it to the play-offs.Since KKR won the title last year, Eden Gardens was announced as the host of the grand final and second qualifier. Although fans experienced a rather damp time at the stadium this year, with KKR losing 4 out of their seven matches and one match ending in a no result due to rain, ardent IPL lovers were still looking forward to the two big matches, hoping to see their favourite players in action."I have watched three matches at Eden this year, and the atmosphere was unmatched every time," said Pousali Roy, an ardent cricket fan who works at a private firm in Park Street. "Despite KKR not making it to the play-offs, to hear now that the final and a qualifier are being taken away is really disheartening."The writing was on the wall when BCCI announced the venues of the remaining IPL matches after the franchise-based T20 tournament resumed following a week's suspension due to India-Pakistan tension. The name of Eden Gardens, which was to stage the Qualifier 2 and final matches, went missing once the new schedule was announced. However, Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) continued to stay hopeful that the city would host the matches as scheduled earlier.With the fear of monsoon hitting the region in June, the association reportedly even submitted IMD data to the BCCI, asserting that conditions in Kolkata would remain favourable for hosting the matches.Some fans even staged demonstrations in front of Eden Gardens on Friday. Former CAB president Sourav Ganguly, who himself had talks with BCCI over the issue, expressed optimism about Eden keeping its date with the IPL final. "Is it that easy to shift the final? I'm sure everything will be sorted out. I'm very hopeful," he stated on the sidelines of a programme in the city on Saturday. But all efforts finally fell flat on Tuesday.