Eden turned to h**l, Bengal weeps
The International Cricket Council (ICC), after reviewing the report of its inspection committee set to scrutinize the state of preparations of Eden Gardens World Cup venue, has announced that the 27 February match between India and England will not be played
in the Eden Gardens Stadium. This decision was taken by the ICC as a result of its dissatisfaction over the lack of much-needed facilities in the stadium that has been under construction since long to host the 2011 World Cup matches. The Board of Control for
Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Bengal Government are depressed on this decry as it is equal to a “Paradise Lost” for them.
Since ICC’s declaration that the International World Cup 2011 would be played in Siri Lanka, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 and India, the renovation and construction work on the site of the Eden Gardens had been going on but at a snail’s pace. Following its arbitration of
cancelling the 27 February match in the Eden Garden, the ICC requested the BCCI to suggest an alternative venue on war footings. The BCCI has still not responded, but the Cricket Association of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bengal-c771 (CAB) president, Jagmohan Dylmia, has come up with two
options to keep the venue intact. This first is that the ICC may hold another match of the World Cup in Eden Gardens in exchange for the India-England match and the second is an offer from the CAB that the venue will be ready by 7 February. As far as the first
option is concerned, it seems infusible as it will disturb the whole schedule of the World Cup match. The other option can be considered but after another deep inspection the ICC’s inspection team. However the ICC has not passed any further verdict on it.
The CAB authorities want to retain the venue of the Eden Gardens at any cost, as they consider it to be a matter of the association’s honor. The Bengalis are also quite enthusiastic to host the World Cup matches. They desire to witness the contest between
India and England, the ex-master and slave, in their own city. They have strong emotional attachment with the match. However, they are saddened by the decision of the ICC and some of them even consider it a great conspiracy against Kolkata, an industrial and
trade hub of India.
The ICC wants the BCCI to hold the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mumbai-c820 stadium. It seems like a herculean task for the BCCI, as it is facing logistic problems. If the ICC decides to shift all scheduled matches from the Eden Gardens, the BCCI will need to have
four other slots and four venues to accommodate the matches without disturbing the World Cup schedule. This task will be hard for the BCCI which is already confronted with the problems of logistical arrangements and thus under the severe pressure from the
ICC. The BCCI officials are likely to meet on Monday to finalize the relocation of the match.
The ICC requested India to accelerate the work of preparations on the World Cup venues. The Council maintained that proper, up-to-date and standard facilities be available on the venues. These facilities include boarding and lodging facilities for the players,
sitting arrangements for the spectators, proper settlements for the media coverage and sound locations for sponsors. The sports Authorities of India were engaged in preparing and hosting the Commonwealth Games that were held last year. So they did not have
a sufficient time to be ready for another mega event like the Cricket World Cup. But according to the ICC Chief Executive, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Haroon-Lorgat-c61719, all venues had an ample time for preparations but the work had been slow.
The issue is under consideration by the BCCI, CAB and ICC. Whatever the final decision may be, the disturbance of the World Cup Schedule is imminent.
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