No IPL ceremony, funds to be allocated to families of Pulwama martyrs: CoA chief Vinod Rai

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Committee of Administrators (CoA) chairman Vinod Rai on Friday stated that there will not be a regular opening ceremony in this edition of the IPL, with funds to be instead allocated to families of the victims of the Pulwama terror attack.

"We'll not have a regular IPL opening ceremony and the amount of the budget for the opening ceremony will be given to families of the victims of this terror attack," ANI quoted Rai as saying.

The Pulwama terror attack termed as the deadliest ever attack on security forces in Kashmir, was executed by a suicide bomber of Pakistan-backed Jaish-e-Mohammad who targetted the convoy carrying CRPF personnel on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway. 

The convoy which overall comprised of 2500 CRPF personnel in 78 buses, was attacked at around 3.15 PM at Ladhu Modi Lethpora while travelling from Jammu to Srinagar. 

The Prime Minister strongly condemned the attack terming it as “despicable” and stated, “The sacrifices of our brave security personnel shall not go in vain. The entire nation stands shoulder to shoulder with the families of the brave martyrs."

The first match of this edition of this Indian Premier League (IPL) will be conducted on March 23 between the Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai. 

(With Agency Inputs)