India vs Sri Lanka | Banners, Posters and Placards Among Prohibited Items for First T20I

For the first T20I between India and Sri Lanka at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, fans will not be allowed to carry any placards or posters or banners for the game. Only men’s wallets, ladies handbags, mobile phones and vehicle keys will be permitted inside the ground.

Devajit Saikia, secretary Assam Cricket Association, also told Hindustan Times that marker pens were prohibited.

In the company of the Commissioner of Police MP Gupta, the secretary made it clear that these were only security measures and had nothing to do with the recent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and cited a stone breaking the Australia team bus window after the T20I here in 2017.



“Everybody is concerned, not just the people of Assam. This is an international event and will have heightened security measures,” Saikia said. “We have to be prepared.”

Regarding the posters and banners Saikia clarified that it was because an arrangement between the BCCI and a beverage multi-national had ended, information about which the local board only recently.

A BCCI official added that while they were unaware of the ‘4’ and ‘6’ being prohibited to the game and that it was generally something the series sponsors take care of. “However, BCCI will abide by whatever the local authorities say on this,” said the official.

With the ACA treating this as a dress rehearsal for the upcoming IPL, where Rajasthan Royals will play a few games in Guwahati, details about the increased security measures are being kept closely guarded.

“We are going through the standard drill and have implemented sufficient number of security personnel,” Gupta said.

“Whatever security protocol we have to follow, we are,” said Saikia. “Nothing more, nothing less. No situation arose where the ACA or the BCCI were skeptical about holding this match. Following a timeline we have prepared for this for a month. That is why we are so relaxed,” said Saikia.