Andhra government asks Deccan Chargers to boycott IPL

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Sports Minister K. Venkat Reddy told reporters that he had asked Deccan Chargers to pull out of the tournament if the IPL refused to reconsider its decision to move out the inaugural and four other matches as per the earlier schedule.

"I have also written a letter to BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) president to hold all IPL matches in Hyderabad as scheduled," he said.

The IPL last month decided to move the opening ceremony and the inaugural match between local franchise Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders, scheduled to be played here March 12, to Mumbai in view of the unrest for a separate state of Telangana.

However, Venkat Reddy's letter to BCCI president Shashank Manohar revealed that the IPL had decided to move out the remaining four matches as well.

In the letter, copies of which were marked to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, union Home Minister P. Chidambaram and IPL chief Lalit Modi, the sports minister said the decision of the IPL governing council had disappointed cricket lovers in the state.

Venkat Reddy pointed out that Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC), which is spearheading the Telangana agitation, had assured full cooperation to the conduct of matches in Hyderabad and the police was also making necessary security arrangements.

"I as sports minister hailing from Telangana and on behalf of government of Andhra Pradesh assure the IPL of all necessary support for peaceful conduct of the matches," he wrote.

Venkat Reddy told reporters that he discussed the issue with Chief Minister K. Rosaiah and decided to seek the intervention of Sonia Gandhi and Chidambaram to ensure that Hyderabad hosts all the IPL matches as scheduled.

"If Hyderabad is insulted like this, the local team Deccan Chargers will not play IPL matches," he said.

To a query, the minister answered that the government was requesting and ordering the Deccan Chargers to boycott the tournament if the IPL refused to reconsider its decision.

The continuing protests over the demand for statehood to Telangana, which comprises 10 districts including Hyderabad, had put a question mark on IPL matches.

Though convenor of the all-party Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) M. Kodandaram has also written letters to BCCI and IPL officials to hold the inaugural ceremony and all matches here as scheduled, a section of students of Osmania University has threatened to disrupt the matches.

The IPL moved the opening ceremony and inaugural match after pro-Telangana activists forced play between Hyderabad and Andhra in the Deccan T-20 Cup at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium to be abandoned.

The BCCI has also shifted two women's one-day matches between India and England to Visakhapatnam and Bangalore, originally scheduled to be held here this month-end.