In times of crisis, hockey gets comforting words from cricket. The BCCI has lent a helping hand to its neighbours here — the Bombay Hockey Association.

With BHA approaching the court to extend the lease of their premises after they were served an eviction notice by the Maharashtra government, BCCI president Sharad Pawar has advocated hockey’s cause to chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in a letter, saying the cricket board does not need the BHA premises which is adjacent to the Wankhede Stadium. This is seen as a shot in the arm for the BHA, who had feared that the BCCI might encroach on the hockey turf while renovating the stadium for the 2010 World Cup.

The BHA secretary Kehar Singh has appreciated Pawar’s efforts as said, “Earlier, we speculated that due to the World Cup, the MCA wanted BHA but his letter have proved it that he is with us.”

In his letter, a copy of which was also marked to the BHA, Pawar spoke about the efforts made by the hockey body in keeping the game alive in the city. “BHA has produced a number of international players of repute who have made the country proud and the Mumbai hockey team (Maratha warriors) has been doing extremely well in the nationals. In fact, BHA is one of the very few stadiums which has an astroturf and has infrastructure to play good hockey and is also a flood light stadium,” said the letter, a copy of which is with The Indian Express.

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