India vs Sri Lanka 2014: West Bengal government wants to reschedule Eden Gardens ODI
West Bengal govt wants to reschedule Eden ODI
By Sandipan Banerjee
The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) is currently under dilemma over hosting first One-day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka in Eden Gardens. As reported by CricketCountry earlier, CAB wanted to host the of the first match of the upcoming five-ODI series against Sri Lanka. They had requested The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for that particular match and had apparently acquired verbal assurance as well. But according to the latest developments, West Bengal Government officials told CAB authorities that it will tough for them to provide adequate security at the venue till November 4.
The last week of October and first few days of November is a festive season in the Eastern part of the country. Kolkata will be celebrating ‘Chhat Puja’, ‘Jagadhatri Puja’ and ‘Muharram’ during that time. According to the state government authorities it will be hard for them to host any international cricket match at that point of time. However, if Eden Gardens is allotted the game after November 4, then there will be no issue regarding hosting the game in the city.
As per BCCI itinerary the series has to finish by November 15. In that case BCCI might allot the first match of the series to Barabati stadium, Cuttack and second match to Eden Gardens.
The MAK Pataudi lecture, which is to be delivered by VVS Laxman prior to the match, day is also on hold because of the sudden cancellation of West Indies series. The event will take place during the time period of Sri Lanka match. In other words, everything depends on the schedule of the Sri Lanka series at this stage — or rather, on whether West Bengal Government will be willing to give cricket schedule a chance.
(Sandipan Banerjee is a reporter at CricketCountry. Cricket has been the biggest passion for him since his childhood. So, when it came to choosing his career, he chose to turn his passion into his profession. Apart from cricket he likes mountain trekking, river rafting, and photography. His twitter handle is @im_sandipan)