5 instances when big matches/tournaments in India were shifted to a new venue

In what is a big blow to Chennai Super Kings fans, it has been decided that the Indian Premier League matches will be moved out of the city in the wake of the protests that took place in Chennai before the April 10 match.

"We are likely to shift the Chennai matches out of the city. An official statement will be released about this soon," said a top source in the BCCI.

Chennai hosted their first IPL game in two years on Tuesday, and much to the delight of the spectators, their home team beat KKR in a sensational manner. However, they might have to watch the rest of the games on the television, as the home games will be moved out of the Tamil Nadu capital.

In the wake of this, here’s recalling 5 big instances when matches/tourn were shifted for varied reasons.

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#5 KKR vs MI – shifted from Kolkata to Cuttack

KKR have historically always performed poor against Mumbai Indians

The first home game of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the seventh edition of IPL against the then defending champions Mumbai Indians on May 14 was shifted to Cuttack since the Kolkata police authorities could not deploy sufficient force for the game ahead of the election results which were due on May 16 – two days after the match.

The Kolkata Police said it would be difficult to provide security for the match. "We tried our best but the Commissioner of Police said the security forces would be insufficient as they would be busy with Lok Sabha polls," CAB joint secretary Subir Ganguly had said.

That season, KKR played only three matches at their home ground in Eden Gardens.

#4 India vs England – 2011 World Cup – shifted from Kolkata to Bangalore

The match was a tie and both teams got a point each

One of the three most important matches of Group B – India vs England, which was scheduled to be held on the 27th of February, 2011 was moved from Kolkata to Bangalore as the former venue failed to complete construction work on time.

The Karnataka capital was chosen as an ideal replacement for its easy accessibility, well-equipped ground easy availability of world-class accommodation. The match was a tie and both the teams got a point each.

#3 IPL 2009 – shifted from India to South Africa

IPL in South Africa was a great move to globalize cricket

The second edition of the IPL was played in between 18 April and 24 May 2009 in South Africa since it coincided with the general elections back home. The IPL gave approximately US$100 million into South Africa's local economy.

It received record global television viewership and not just that, the stadiums also saw crowd even though only a handful of South African players played in the tournament. IPL 2 was won by the now defunct Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore ended as the runners-up.

IPL in South Africa was a great move to globalize cricket.

#2 IPL 2014 – shifted from India to the UAE

Kolkata Knight Riders won the first of their two titles that year

The first leg of the seventh edition of the IPL was shifted from India to the United Arab Emirates. 20 matches were played in three stadiums: Sheikh Zayed Stadium- Abu Dhabi, Sharjah CA Stadium, Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

A few games had to be shifted due to the general elections in India which were held from April 7 to May 12. That year, the league featured eight teams instead of nine, since the Pune Warriors withdrew themselves.

Kolkata Knight Riders won the first of their two titles that year.

#1 India vs Pakistan – 2016 World T20 – shifted from Dharamsala to Kolkata

India beat Pakistan comfortably in the 2016 World T20 at Kolkata

The 2016 World T20 match between arch-rivals India and Pakistan was shifted to Kolkata from Dharamsala due to security reasons. With many of the martyred armymen hailing from Kangra district, where the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) stadium is located, rampant protests were made to cancel any sort of cricketing tie with Pakistan.

The HPCA authorities said they do not have adequate security force to ensure safety of the players and spectators, and thus the match was relocated to Kolkata. The game was won by the hosts in an easy fashion.