On Wednesday, Pune will serve as the home venue of Chennai Super Kings for the remaining six games, it was confirmed. Earlier in the day, Indian Premier League chairman Rajeev Shukla had revealed that the matches had to be moved out of Chennai owing to security concerns. The Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium will now host eight games in total with one Eliminator and one Qualifier scheduled to take place on May 23 and 25 respectively.
Top officials of the Chennai-based franchise were in a meeting with the local police to find out if adequate security can be provided for the six remaining home fixtures at the M.A. Chidambaram stadium. However, according to reports, the police expressed their inability in ensuring enough personnel at the venue for the smooth conduct of the games. Out of the 22 times, MS Dhoni has won the toss in IPL matches at Chennai. He has opted to bat first 20 times.
During CSK's first home game against Kolkata Knight Riders, on Tuesday, groups of protesters demonstrated outside the M.A. Chidambaram stadium demanding a boycott of the match. Despite a tight security blanket in and around the stadium, spectators threw a pair of shoes near the boundary ropes during the course of the match and were subsequently expelled from the venue. Incidentally, this game marked the return of IPL to the city after the franchise completed its two-year ban.
