Chennai, Dec 12 (PTI) The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association on Thursday thanked the state government for extending the lease of M A Chidambaram stadium here for a period of 21 years.

"The members, the management including the president Mrs Rupa Gurunath, honorary secretary R S Ramaswamy express their grateful appreciation to the Government of Tamil Nadu for having extended the lease of the Chepauk cricket stadium to the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association for 21 years," it said in a press release.

Terming it a great gesture by the government which showed its abiding interest in this game, the TNCA said: "It is now possible to begin the process of regularising the setback at the stadium which will lead to the reopening of the sealed I, J and K stands."

The three stands at the stadium have been closed for some yearsnow, resulting in Chennai missing out on hosting matches including in the T20 World Cup in 2016 and this year's IPL final.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)