Chhetri thanks football fans for overwhelming support
Mumbai, June 8 : Indian football team skipper Sunil Chhetri has welcomed the overwhelming fan support from across the country after his emotional message on social media urging to back the team up went viral.
"Our team's pride and passion to represent the country is at an all-time high considering the nationwide outpour of love and support over the past week," Chhetri told IANS in a statement, after the narrow loss to New Zealand on Thursday.
"We are motivated to give it our very best on the pitch for our country, our fans and emerge victorious. I am hopeful that this excitement and energy will continue throughout the tournament," he added.
Chhetri scored during India's 1-2 loss to New Zealand in their final league encounter of the ongoing Intercontinental Cup, in front of a packed Mumbai Football Arena crowd, who braved heavy downpour to cheer the team.
Despite the loss, India are guaranteed a spot in Sunday's final, having finished the league stage on top of the table with six points.
The Kiwis too, have the same points but a superior goal difference helped the hosts remain on top.
Thanking the fans for their overwhelming support, the Indian captain said this was just the start of good times for the national football team.
"We believe that this is the start of an era where people will change their mindsets and come out in full support of all the sports that are represented by India's national team," he said.
Chhetri also thanked radio channel -- Radio City -- who took up the onus of evoking a sense of patriotism amongst the fans by initiating #StudioNahiStadiumSeLIVE to ensure maximum support and turnout during Thursday's tie.
"Radio City's initiative to cover us live throughout the day from Mumbai is a very kind gesture for the team and I thank them for taking up our cause," the skipper said.
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IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
