Development Of World Cup 2011 venues going according to schedule: Ratnakar Shetty
Ratnakar Shetty, the tournament director of the 2011 World Cup said that the development of the stadiums was well under way and was going according to schedule. Shetty confirmed that the governments of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 which formulate the host country would work together to guarantee an “incident free” competition. Most of the stadiums in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were not up to the mark and were either being redeveloped or reconstructed. However, Shetty was confident that the stadiums will be complete before the deadline which is 31st December.
“We are monitoring the development of all the World Cup venues, particularly the re-development of stadiums. The events are properly chartered and time is of the essence for us. The World Cup has been previously held in the subcontinent in 1987 and 1996, and our aim is to deliver a World Cup remembered as a memorable event for spectators to enjoy and the teams that are participating to be at full strength.” Shetty told reporters.
The International Cricket Council had been concerned over some of the facilities, especially the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. The ICC pitch consultant, Andy Atkinson suggested some changes that needed to be implemented before the tournament kicks-off. Earlier in June, an ICC delegation inspected some of the stadiums and reported that the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo was behind schedule in terms of the readiness of the pitch. However, development on the other venues of Pallekele and Hambantota was said to be well on course.
An Indian newspaper reported that the organizers were worried about the delay in progress and had decided to keep the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mumbai-c820 DY Patil Stadium as a backup, in case one of the venues was not prepared in time for the World Cup. But Shetty denied such rumors, saying that the Wankhede stadium would be complete on time. “As the tournament director of the ICC World Cup 2011, I would like to place on record that the ICC Committee, keeping track of the preparedness of the venues, is satisfied with the progress of the work at the Wankhede stadium,”
Shetty also stressed on security arrangements, saying that the hosts would do their best to provide the best security for the event. “Each of the countries now has full-time security advisors and they are preparing the national security plans as well as the tournament security plans. The three governments are working out to ensure that this will be an incident free 2011 World Cup.” Shetty said.
Shetty clarified the deadline given by the ICC was set at December 30. The tournament director said that he was confident that the stadiums would be ready by the end of the year 2010, which he said was the deadline given to the Mumbai Cricket Association. He added how the Central Organization Committee of the World Cup 2011 had not yet reached a decision on considering the DY Patil Stadium as an option in case of the non-availability of one of the other venues.
Around the same time, the ICC revealed the 2011 World Cup mascot in Colombo. The mascot is an elephant named “Stumpy”. The ICC had launched a competition which gave cricket fans a chance to suggest a name for the mascot, which would be chosen. Stumpy is said to be “young, enthusiastic and determined.” The subcontinent is all set to host the World Cup for the first time since 1996, and the organizers are doing everything they can to ensure that the tournament is a success.
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