An unusual demand to ban Chennai Super Kings IPL team in Tamil Nadu was made in the Assembly on Tuesday. The reason is that the team has no native players from the state.
PMK MLA S P Venkateshwaran from Dharmapuri made the demand while participating in the debate on the Demand for Grants for Sports and Youth Welfare Department. The legislators said though the team doesn’t have any players from Tamil Nadu, it projects itself as a team of the state in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“There are several talented players in the state but the Chennai Super Kings team hasn’t given them a chance to play in the IPL. But the team takes pride that it is from Tamil Nadu. They are making money out of Tamil pride but not giving chance to people from the state,” he said, demanding that the team be banned in the state.
The debate also witnessed some lighter moments when AIADMK MLA S P Velumani sought “passes” for legislators to watch the IPL matches at the M A Chidambaram stadium in Chennai. He also said the AIADMK government had provided such passes to MLAs but the DMK hasn’t followed suit.
In his reply, Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin wondered how did the AIADMK provide passes to legislators to watch matches when Chennai didn’t host any of them in four years.
“This is the first time we are hosting matches in four years. Moreover, the IPL is managed by the BCCI. Jay Shah, son of your close friend Amit Shah, is the head of BCCI. Ask them for tickets. If we ask for tickets, they won’t listen to us. But they will listen to you,” Udhayanidhi said.
Published 11 April 2023, 14:01 IST