Just like last year, this year too Kanpur will be hosting two IPL matches on May 10 and 13, to be played at the Green Park Stadium. The two matches to be played between Gujarat Lions, Delhi Daredevils and Hyderabad Sun Risers have the cricket lovers excited.
But what is also special this year is the felicitation of the players from the state playing in these three teams, apart from Kuldeep Yadav who will be specially invited for this felicitation.
Among those to be felicitated this year are Kuldeep Yadav, Suresh Raina, Bhuvneshawar Kumar, Pravin Kumar, Amit Mishra, Eklavya Dwivedi and Umang Sharma, among others. “While Yadav will be awarded a cheque for Rs5 lakh and a memento, the rest will be given mementos,” informs Rajiv Shukla, IPL commissioner and director, Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA).
“We want to acknowledge the contribution of the cricketers from the state to the game and to the country.
We have decided to felicitate the players in these teams who belong to Uttar Pradesh,” says Shukla, adding, “Seeing the recent performance of cricketer Kuldeep Yadav in the test match against the Australian team, the UPCA has decided to honour him with an amount of Rs5 lakh.
We will also be felicitating Suresh Raina, who plays for team India and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who plays domestic cricket. This kind of recognition from the state will motivate the players and also promote the sport.”
While last year, the IPL matches in Kanpur saw Tim Cook and Sanjay Dutt as guests, this year too the matches may witness the presence of a few celebrities. “This time too cricket buffs will be in for a big surprise seeing the guests at the IPL matches. We are yet to figure out the invitations and we will shortly make the and we will shortly make the announcement.”
Shukla is also upbeat about the international cricket stadium coming up in Lucknow.
“Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is quite interested in the development of sports in the state. He has shown interest in the further development of Green Park stadium. We are also happy with the stadium coming up in Lucknow and we plan to bring IPL matches to Lucknow in the next season. The stadium meets all the world class standards and the best thing is that it has a seating capacity of 50,000, which is a fairly decent number,” says Shukla.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Nodia News / by Sumit Jha / April 22nd, 2017