Dhoni, Harbhajan in Chandigarh for Corporate Cup

CHANDIGARH - Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh arrived here Monday to represent the ‘Air India Blue’ team in the Corporate Cup that begins here Tuesday.

Leading international and domestic players will be seen in action in the eight-day tournament that will be held at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium at Mohali.

Everything is well placed and we are looking forward to some good matches at the PCA ground. The weather, though, is a matter of concern. It is raining heavily for the last two days, due to which we had to cancel the practice sessions, Sushil Kapoor, spokesperson of PCA, told IANS Monday.

“We have properly covered the pitch and the ground area, he added.

The weatherman, however, has predicted rainfall Tuesday.

“There is a strong possibility of heavy rain in the region on tomorrow. This rainfall will continue for the next three-four days,” said Chatar Singh Malik, director of meteorological centre, Chandigarh.

This is for the first time that Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) is organising an inter-corporate cricket tournament. This tournament has been sponsored by Sahara (real estate) and the prize money for the winning team is Rs.10 million (Rs.1 crore).

Total 12 teams are participating in the tournament but only three teams- Air India Blue, Indian Revenue and ITC-will play at the PCA stadium.

On the sale of tickets, Kapoor said, The response has been lukewarm so far. I think people are not aware about the arrival of star players like Dhoni, Harbhajan and R.P. Singh. But we are expecting the sale of tickets to pick up from tomorrow.

The PCA stadium has got four matches of the tournament, including second semi-final match Sep 6.

All the 50-over matches will be a day-night affair.