By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy Friday assured cricket lovers in the state that he would do his best to resurrect the fortunes of the Kochi IPL team and also push for the proposed Kochi cricket stadium that was denied an environment go-ahead.
“I will speak to IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla to see how the fortunes of the Kochi IPL team can be revived,” said Chandy while addressing the valedictory function of the golden jubilee celebrations of the Kerala Cricket Association ( KCA) here.
His assurance comes after the Board of Control for Cricket in India terminated the Kochi Tuskers Kerala IPL franchise last month for breaching its terms of conditions.
The main reason for the termination of the franchise is because the consortium that owns Kochi is reported to have defaulted on an annual payment of Rs.156 crore as a bank guarantee.
Another assurance which Chandy gave cricket lovers who had assembled in large numbers was to take up with the union environment ministry denial of clearance to build the proposed Kochi cricket stadium.
In June this year then union environment minister Jairam Ramesh had denied permission for the stadium as it falls under the Coastal Regulation Zone -1.
“My government will again take up this issue with the new environment minister. The KCA has submitted a memorandum to this effect. We will do our best to see that cricket prospers in the state,” said Chandy.