ICC World T20 2016: Nagpur to replace Feroz Shah Kotla as new venue?

It is looking increasingly difficult for Delhi to host their scheduled matches in the ICC World T20 2016 after a Delhi High Court ruling on Tuesday said that the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in the national capital looks unsafe for hosting the matches.

The stadium has been allotted four matches, including the first semi-final, of the mega-cricket event scheduled to start in March. But with the DDCA (Delhi and Districts Cricket Association) coming all over the news for the wrong reasons in the past few months, it looks highly unlikely that cricket fans in Delhi would get to watch the matches in the city.

The under-scanner DDCA now have to shell out Rs 50 lakh as a security amount to the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and adhere to all the formalities of hosting the ICC World T20 matches, within a span of 20 days. The DDCA, on Tuesday, also had to request the HC panel to withdraw their application to seek an occupancy certificate from the Municipal body.

The bench asked the DDCA to complete the remaining construction work in the stadium within the stipulated 20 days' time, or else forget their hopes of hosting the matches. "After 20 days, you (DDCA) should not come and say they (SDMC) are illegally withholding the occupancy certificate or say you need any modification in the earlier order. It should not happen," the bench ordered the DDCA, reported Press Trust of India.

Now, according to a report in the Times of India, the BCCI may possibly have to come up with a venue-change proposal and forward it to the ICC for their approval. Nagpur's VCA Stadium looks the most-likely replacement.

The 2nd T20 match in the India vs Sri Lanka 2016 series was also supposed to take place at the Feroz Shah Kotla on 12 February, but the match had to be shifted to Ranchi after the DDCA failed to acquire the clearance certificates for hosting the T20I on time.