Bombay High Court's order to move Indian Premier League 2016 matches out of drought-hit Maharashtra has not gone down well with two legends of the game - Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid.
On Wednesday, the High Court, acting on a PIL against IPL matches in the state sue to severe water crisis, ordered the BCCI to shift all matches out of Maharashtra after April 30.
The IPL governing council will meet in Delhi on Friday to reschedule the 13 IPL matches distributed over three Maharashtra venues - Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur.
Water is a serious issue but linking this to IPL makes no sense: Rahul Dravid told NDTV. Dravid is the mentor of IPL team Delhi Daredevils.
Gavaskar found no sense in moving 13 games in May when Maharashtrian venues like Nagpur, Mumbai hosted several ICC World Twenty20 games in spite of water scarcity in the state.
Whatever may be the reason for hindering the smooth functioning of the IPL, Gavaskar said: "IPL was a soft target with people finding problems with the tournament every year."
"There have been less rains in Maharashtra in the last two-three years. Will moving a few IPL matches help ease the problem? We need long-term solution as farmers are important," Gavaskar told NDTV.
Gavaskar also said that it would be a "double blow" for new team Rising Pune Superstars if they had to pay Rs 5 crore to the Chief Minister's Drought Relief Fund. RPS will be rendered homeless in May due to the High Court verdict.
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