Guwahati’s Barsapara Stadium is set to host Kolkata Knight Riders’ home game against Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2025. The match was initially scheduled to take place at KKR’s home Eden Gardens in Kolkata but there is a last-minute change in the scheduling.
It is to be noted that Guwahati will also act as a host to Rajasthan Royals in their first two home games of the season. With the addition of the KKR vs LSG match to this list, the Barsapara Stadium will host a total of three IPL matches this season.
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Guwahati to host KKR’s home match against LSG
According to a report in PTI, the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Lucknow Super Giants on April 6 will be shifted due to security concerns in Kolkata on the occasion of Ram Navami, which is celebrated fondly across the country.
“The IPL match between KKR and LSG on April 6 is to be shifted from Kolkata to Guwahati following security concerns on Ram Navami day,” CAB president Snehashish Ganguly was quoted as saying by PTI.
Ganguly confirmed that the BCCI had been already requested to reschedule this match but that wasn’t possible for them to change it at such short notice. He claimed that the state police in Kolkata won’t be able to provide adequate security on that day.
“We have informed the BCCI to reschedule the match, but there is no scope for rescheduling the game in the city later and I’m now hearing that it’s going to be shifted to Guwahati,” the CAB president mentioned.
“I had several rounds of talks with the Kolkata Police and they said they won’t be able to provide enough security on that day. If there’s no police protection, accommodating and managing a 65,000-strong crowd becomes impossible,”,” he added.
While Snehashish Ganguly spoke about the developments, an official statement from the IPL is yet to arrive. It is likely to be announced soon as there is no option other than to host the match outside Kolkata.
Guwahati to host Rajasthan Royals
Guwahati will host Rajasthan Royals’ opening two home matches of the tournament, against Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings on March 26 and 30 respectively. With KKR already playing a game before their home game against LSG here, they will be better equipped for the conditions at the stadium.
The matches between KKR and LSG usually draw a packed audience due to the fact that LSG’s owner Sanjiv Goenka also owns the football team Mohun Bagan Super Giants, which has its home base in Kolkata.
The upcoming match between these two teams would have drawn a packed audience at the stadium and would have made it difficult for the security persons to manage the crowd. Hence, Guwahati was picked as the alternate venue as it will be already match-ready.
Eden Gardens to host IPL 2025 opener
Kolkata’s Eden Gardens will also host the opening match of IPL 2025 between the defending champions KKR and RCB on March 22. Before the match, the opening ceremony of the tournament will also take place in the stadium.
KKR won the IPL 2024 title by defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final. It was their third IPL title and the first in a decade. It was a fantastic season for the Knight Riders as they were utterly dominant throughout the season.
