ICC T20 World Cup 2016: New Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla stadium to host semi-final amid stand concerns

New Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla will remain the venue for the ICC T20 World Cup 2016 semi-final, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Anurag Thakur confirmed on Wednesday according to an ANI report. There will not be any shift in venues, with the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) receiving the clearance to host the game on 30 March.

The BCCI had earlier hinted it was considering shifting the semi-final to Bangalore, which forced the state association to request time until Wednesday. "The DDCA's executive members along with a top ICC official and ICC's legal advisor have arranged a meeting with Justice Mudgal for Wednesday morning. They will try to convince Justice Mudgal to allow DDCA to use the disputed 2100 seats above the sight screen", a top DDCA official had said, as quoted by Cricbuzz.

There were concerns that the unavailability of the RP Mehra block at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, which has 2,100 vantage seats, could see the first semi-final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2016 being shifted from New Delhi to Bangalore. The International Cricket Council (ICC) while being fine with not using the stand for the group games, felt that empty seats and a lack of proper branding for a game as big as the semi-final would come as a blow for the tournament.

Delhi is scheduled to host three Super 10 games before the semi-final match including the England vs Afghanistan game on 23 March, England vs Sri Lanka on 26 March and South Africa vs Sri Lanka on 28 March.

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