Unhappy PC for rescheduling of Services match at Srinagar

Jammu, Nov 4 : Union Home Minister P Chidambaram today expressed 'serious displeasure' over the Services team pulling out of a Ranji trophy match at Srinagar, and preferred it to be rescheduled at the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir.

Decision of the Services Sports Control Board not to play in Srinagar against the Jammu and Kashmir, citing security reasons, stirred up a raging political controversy.

Talking to reporters at the site of new township for Kashmiri migrants at Jagti, about 14 km from here, Mr Chidambaram expressed ''serious displeasure'' over decision of the SSCB to pull out of the match at Srinagar and said it would not have happened had he been aware of the move.

The Board, he said, has now requested that cricket match should be rescheduled and played at Srinagar.

''Whether that (forfeited match) will be possible, whether the forfeiture is final, I cannot say. But I have told the Defence Secretary if it was not possible to play this match in Srinagar, because it is already forfeited, the Services (Sports Control) Board must request the BCCI to schedule another match in Srinagar,'' the Home Minister said.

Mr Chidambaram said he had taken up the matter with the Ministry of Defence.

For skipping yesterday's match, the BCCI has banned Services from all matches of the Ranji Trophy cricket this year.

Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association President Farooq Abdullah, who is also a Union Minister, was irked over the decision of the services team and said it had negated the claims of Centre about security situation in the militancy-hit state.

J&K, which has now four points after Services pulled out of the match, will take on Haryana from November 10 to 13.

--UNI

(c) 2009 Published with permission from United News of India.
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