Indian Premier League: Chennai Super Kings Fans Have a Reason to Feel Hurt, Cheated
The Board of Control For Cricket in India revealed the names of two new Indian Premier League host cities - Pune and Rajkot - that will take the place of the tainted Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.
The city's absence from the Indian Premier League map for two years is bound to hurt the sentiments of Chennai Super Kings fans. With a cement company among bidders for new teams, there was a flicker of hope for Chennai fans. By Tuesday afternoon, their hopes lay in tatters. (Indian Premier League: Board of Control for Cricket in India Names Pune, Rajkot as New Cities)
Pune and Rajkot were named as the new IPL teams. Even after CSK's suspension by a Supreme Court-appointed panel, IPL's bosses wanted a team from Chennai to keep the millions of die-hard fans happy. These fans will now feel cheated due to a corrupt cricket enthusiast, whose father-in-law till recently was the most powerful man in world cricket.
Having won the Indian Premier League twice and the Champions League Twenty20 as many times, the franchise from Chennai went on to be regarded as the most successful team in the IPL. (Indian Premier League 2016 to Start From April 9 With Rajkot and Pune as New Teams)
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The fans of the city, who have time and again welcomed the sport with open arms and cheered their team with the fervour few others could boast of, will now be devoid of any action. (Board of Control for Cricket in India to Gain Rs 332 Crore in Two Years, Says Niranjan Shah)
The wrongs done by Gurnunath Meiyappan and N. Srinivasan choice to overlook the misdemeanours have robbed millions of loyal fans from witnessing one of the most followed cricket tournaments in the world.
There was still a glimmer of hope for Chennai with Chettinad Cement, a company owned by a group led by ex-BCCI president A.C Muthiah, fighting tooth and nail to win the bid for a new team. But they were outbid on Tuesday. (Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals' Loss is Pune and Rajkot's Gain)
Chennai's favourite adopted-son, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has lost his second home. The ubiquitous yellow shirt will take a forced sabbatical. Corruption has killed the passion of cricket fans.