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The Bombay high court has asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India whether it can shift IPL matches out of Pune and Mumbai, and sought its reply by Wednesday.
A forensic lab must confirm whether the water that was used for the opening match of the Indian Premier League Season 9 was potable or treatable for drinking, the court said.
The judges said they want a verification of the Maharashtra government's claim that at a time when the state is devastated by drought, water is not being squandered on cricket pitches.
A few days ago, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said "it would not bother me" if the IPL is moved out of Maharashtra.
Repeating that stand, the government told the court, that is has no objection if matches are cancelled for Maharashtra "even though there is a loss of revenue".
This did not go down well with the judges, who responded, "Loss of revenue - that's what they are worried about, not people."
The hearing will continue on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, according to a news channel, the BCCI, which is facing pressure from all quarters, is planning to shift IPL games out of drought-hit Maharashtra to other venues.
Mumbai and Pune are scheduled to host nine and eight matches respectively, while Nagpur plays host to three.
The Bombay high court had allowed the opening match of the season -- between Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiants, at the Wankhede Stadium -- to go ahead as scheduled, saying a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that was filed against it was too late.
Sources say Kanpur, Indore and Ranchi have been put on standby as alternative venues, while the Kings XI Punjab's (KXIP) games, scheduled to be held in Nagpur, will be moved to the team's home ground, Mohali.
The franchise told the court on Tuesday that it is ready to shift its matches from Nagpur to Mohali.