Jaipur stadium reopened hours before IPL clash

Jaipur: Hours before the start of Jaipur's IPL match against Hyderabad here on Friday, the Sawai Man Singh stadium was locked from inside owing to a dispute between the Rajasthan Cricket Association and Rajasthan Sports Council.

However, the stadium was opened after a compromise between the two parties after an hour.

The RCA employees and the organisers of the IPL match, Emerging Media, complained to the traffic police that the vehicles parked inside the stadium were creating problems to the visitors and had them towed away.

It angered the employees of the Sports Council, also situated inside the stadium, as some of the towed-away vehicles belonged to them. In retaliation, they locked up the gates of the stadium for an hour.

At a meeting with RCA Deputy President Bimal Soni, Secretary Subhash Joshi and Security head of RCA Girish Sharma, the Sports Council employees alleged that their

vehicles were damaged by the traffic police. The situation diffused after the RCA tendered an apology.

The IPL, though producing fierce rivalry on the field, has been shrouded in controversy ever since it began.

The Eden Gardens blacked out during Kolkata's first home game in the early stages of the tournament, while teams came under sharp criticism for their cheerleaders and their outfits, causing an uproar among politicians.

These incidents were followed by the 'Slapgate', when Mumbai spinner Harbhajan Singh was banned for the rest of the competition for hitting Mohali pacer and India teammate S Sreesanth.

Interestingly, the IPL Chairman and BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi, is also the president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association.

(With Agency inputs)