Football match cloud over Kochi Ranji game

Kerala's sole home Ranji Trophy match this season may be shifted from Kochi to Palakkad as the dates for the match clash with Kerala Football Association (KFA) plans to use Kochi's Nehru Stadium for its national league games.

Since the Nehru Stadium is hosting the second of the seven one-dayers between India and Australia on October 2, the KFA scheduled nine of its home matches after October 22. So, the Ranji match, from November 12 to 15, against Services was going to coincide with the football league games.

"That could be a problem but I think we can settle the issue amicably after discussions with the cricket association," KMI Mather, the KFA president, told the Hindu. "The All India Football Federation plans to have a strict schedule this season. And we'll need at least two weeks to prepare a football ground after a cricket match, with the focus being mainly on the wicket."

But shifting the match to Palakkad's Fort Ground will prove costly for the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA). "[It] will mean an expense of Rs 500,000 to Rs 600,000 because we have to prepare the ground all over again," said TR Balakrishnan, the KCA interim president.