Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday ordered a probe into the unruly crowd misbehaviour during the second T20 match between India and South Africa at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Monday night and cautioned the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) and the police to ensure that no such incidents in future occur.
Patnaik called a meeting at the Secretariat to discuss the incident in detail wherein the OCA secretary, the Chief Secretary, the Home Secretary, the DGP, the Commissioner of Police, the Intelligence ADG and other senior officials participated.
Patnaik directed Home Secretary Asit Tripathy to conduct a thorough probe into the incident and submit a report within a month.
Terming the unruly crowd behaviour as grossly unfortunate, OCA secretary Asirbad Behera said, “Some people are targeting the OCA and the Barabati Stadium to defame them. This is their handiwork.”
Strongly reacting to the statements of some cricketers, including cricket commentator Sunil Gavaskar, that Odisha should not be allowed matches for next two years for the incident, Behera said, “The statement of Gavaskar is not applicable at all. The match referee and observer would submit their report to the BCCI and later the BCCI would seek explanation from us. let’s wait for that.” Behera argued during a match in Kolkata spectators had hurled bottles to the players from around the stadium and here out of total 45,000 visitors only 150-200 people hurled bottles.
Meanwhile, OCA president Ranjib Biswal also described the crowd behaviour as unfortunate.
Admitting that the incident would definitely have a negative impact as the people across the world must have watched it, he said the OCA would have a meeting with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) and tell them that this was the only incident at the Barabati Stadium.
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