LUCKNOW, June 4 -- The third edition of the UPTwenty20 League is likely to be played in hybrid mode this time in August as the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) is thinking of holding matches both at Kanpur's Green Park Stadium and Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. If all goes well, all 34 matches, including three playoffs and a final, will be played at the two locations and reasons for it seem to be more fan following for the game in Kanpur, high expenditure in Lucknow and a possible clash of dates with the commencement of the matches between the A teams of India and Australia. UPCA secretary Arvind Srivastava on Tuesday said: "Yes, we have plans for this hybrid mode of the event, but nothing is finalised yet." However, one of the key officials of the UPT20L said the hybrid mode was even discussed for the first season of the event in 2023. "Even during the first edition of the event, which was held at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur, discussions on this hybrid mode took place but nothing concrete happened," he added. "Holding the event in hybrid mode isn't an easy task as it will involve huge expenditure of logistics and travelling etc. Moreover, this isn't practically possible as some of the teams are even struggling to clear the dues of their players on time," he said. Another senior official of the UPCA said the reason behind conducting the event in hybrid mode is the fan following of the event in Kanpur as even while conducting the second edition at Lucknow failed to garner fans support as expected. "We do face a lot of difficulties in conducting the event in Kanpur as the stadium has just 18,000 capacities, but still we have got more fan following in Kanpur, which is the mother land of the game in Uttar Pradesh. By conducting the event in Kanpur, we just want to keep the game's interest alive," he said on condition of anonymity on Tuesday. "Most of the people in UPCA want to hold cricket matches in Kanpur only and even in the second edition of the event at Lucknow, UPCA had to face extraordinary expenses which could have been saved, if the matches were held at Kanpur," he said. "Also, the entry of fans at Lucknow stadium isn't easy even if the entry is free and the fans face a lot of restrictions there," he added. During the 2024 edition, one of the reasons for shifting of the event to Lucknow was the state government's 'big no' for free availability of the Green Park Stadium to the UPCA. "The UPCA was asked to pay a sum of Rs 10 crore plus for the conduct of the event in 2023. Later, it was asked to deposit 50 percent of the fee for the time being. However, Rs 2 crore has been deposited by the UPCA so far," claimed an official of the UP Sports Directorate, which owns the Green Park Stadium and has given this to the UPCA after signing an MoU. It is learnt that India A and Australia A will play their first four-day unofficial Test in Lucknow from September 16 to 19 before playing the second one from September 23 to 26 at the same venue. Thereafter, the two teams will engage in three ODIs at Kanpur on September 30, October 2 and 5....