NEWS
Follow UsRoyal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will play the Eliminator of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 without any practice session. There was also no press conference on the eve of their big knockout game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Ahmedabad.
RCB was scheduled to practice at the Gujarat College ground in Ahmedabad to prepare for the Eliminator, but the management cancelled it without giving any reason. Meanwhile, the RR team practised and did their drills on the same ground as scheduled. According to reports by Bengali daily Anandbazar Patrika, the main reason was a security threat to Virat Kohli.
Gujarat Police arrested four men on Monday night (May 20) on suspicion of terror activities and reportedly ceased arms and suspicious videos and text messages from them.
Both teams were aware of the arrests, after which RCB informed the security personnel assigned to them that they wouldn’t be practising.
“Virat Kohli learned about the arrests after arriving in Ahmedabad. He is a national treasure, and his security is our utmost priority,” Anandbazar Patrika quoted Vijay Singh Jwala, a police officer.
“RCB did not want to take a risk. They informed us that there would be no practice session. Rajasthan Royals were also informed about the development, but they had no problems going ahead with their practice,” Jwala added.
After this incident, security has been tightened at the RCB team hotel. The team members have a separate entry and exit gate, which other hotel guests won’t use. No media personnel (despite having IPL media accreditation) were allowed on the hotel premises.
Meanwhile, the RR practice session also happened in tight security with police patrolling the ground. The winner will compete against Sunrisers Hyderabad to ensure a place in the final of IPL 2024, which will be played in Chennai.
