IPL 2025: KKR vs LSG match on Ram Navami in Kolkata to be rescheduled

Owing to upcoming Ram Navami celebrations on April 6, Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) IPL home match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will mostly be rescheduled. Kolkata Police has not given security clearance for the IPL match which is scheduled to take place Eden Gardens due to Ram Navami celebrations in the city on the same day. In recent times, the religious festival has been a key trigger for communal tension in West Bengal.

BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari recently announced that over 20,000 processions will be taken out across West Bengal on Ram Navami, which will require enhanced security arrangements across the state. Taking a jibe at appeasement policies of the Mamata Banerjee government, he further said that any attempts to stop Ram Navami processions will be resisted strongly.

Statement from Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB)

After a meeting with Kolkata police on Tuesday, Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Snehasish Ganguly confirmed that authorities have not given go-ahead for the match. “They have categorically said they won’t be able to provide adequate security. If there’s no police protection, accommodating a 65,000-strong crowd becomes impossible,” Ganguly told PTI.

Ganguly further said that the CAB has informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about the situation. “There is still time to take a final call. Even last year, a scheduled IPL match on Ram Navami had to be rescheduled,” he said. A game between KKR and Rajasthan Royals had to be rescheduled due to security concerns related to Ram Navami.

The 2025 IPL season will begin at Eden Gardens on March 22, with defending champions KKR taking on Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The opening ceremony before the match is expected to feature performances by noted singer Shreya Ghoshal and actress Disha Patani.

Attempts to stop Ram Navami processions will be resisted strongly: BJP Leader Suvendu Adhikari

Raising his voice against Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool government as the state gears up for the Ram Navami festival on April 6, West Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari asserted on Tuesday that any attempts to stop the celebration would be resisted strongly.

“The situation in the state will be similar to that of Bangladesh if Mamata Banerjee remains in power. The days of her rule are numbered. Hindus will not accept her blatant appeasement of one community and attempts to crush Ram Navami celebrations anymore,” the BJP leader said.

“On the day of Holi attacks were carried on Dalits by jihadis in Sainthia. But no action was taken against the perpetrators. Internet services were suspended to cover up the violence against the ‘Sanatanis’. Discussion on it was not even allowed in the assembly,” Adhikari said while referring to incidents of violence in the state’s Birbhum district during Holi.