GUWAHATI, April 21 � Assam Cricket Association (ACA) is planning to host Indian Premier League (IPL) matches from next year onwards.
Interecting with the media, ACA secretary Bikash Baruah said he met Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) owner Shahrukh Khan and actress Deepika Padukone in Kolkata recently and asked for their support in forming an IPL team here in the North-east. Baruah revealed that both SRK and Padukone have reacted positively to the idea. In fact SRK will visit the State in June to discuss the matter with the officials of the State cricket body.
Baruah said, �Earlier, there was no state-of-the-art stadium in the State due to which IPL matches could not be hosted here. With the ACA owned Barsapara stadium almost ready now, the ACA look foward to stage IPL matches.�
The ACA secretary proposed to SRK and Padukone to finance a team from the NE region so that players from this area get the opportunity to play in the cash-rich championship.
�BCCI officials along with the KKR owners have praised Assam for their laudable performances in the Vijay Hazare Trophy this year where they defeated mighty Mumbai in the semifinals. SRK has shown a lot of interest in encouraging cricketers of the North-east region and if all goes well, we will get to stage IPL matches here and even have a team of the North-east.�
The cricket lovers of the region is as passionate about IPL as the rest of the country and IPL matches here will be a big boost for the format.
