The 64th season of the Dr HD Kanga Cricket League, one of Mumbai's most prestigious tournaments, is likely to be called off due to incessant rains and bad playing conditions.
The 64th season of the Dr HD Kanga Cricket League, one of Mumbai's most prestigious tournaments, is likely to be called off due to incessant rains and bad playing conditions. Last season too most of the matches had to be cancelled as a result of which there were no promotions or relegations.
Kanga League secretary Vinod Deshpande has proposed to the Mumbai Cricket Association's (MCA) Managing Committee and the Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) that the tournament be called off this year. "There are four rounds to be played and there are very slim chances ofu00a0 them happening since theu00a0 ground conditions are very bad. We can instead start preparing the grounds now, so that next tournaments can be played early.
The CIC is convinced that we should call off the tournament this time. But a final decision will be taken by the Managing Committee on Wednesday (today)," Deshpande told MiD DAY yesterday. Kanga League matches are generally played on Sundays and bank holidays in the monsoons. The first of the 13 rounds was scheduled to begin on July 17. However, that did not happen due to the heavy downpour the city has witnessed.
Deshpande, however, said three proposals have been made to make play possible from next season onwards. "The first proposal is to start the tournament by August instead of June-July, so that there are less chances of rain spoiling the start of the League. Secondly, we could reduce the number of teams and begin in September. The top teams will be decided based on the previous season's results. There would also be provisions for a rematch in case of two washouts. The third proposal is to start the tournament in September and end it by December, where each division plays 19 matches," Deshpande informed.
"Let's see what the Managing Committee and CIC decide. I don't think the conditions (playing in monsoon with uncovered wickets ufffd something the Kanga League is known for) would change if we start it late. The idea is to have maximum matches," he added.
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