Published: Sep 11, 2015, 11:40 AM (IST)
Edited: Sep 14, 2015, 06:21 PM (IST)
The South Africa team is scheduled to kick-off with at T20 warm-up match against a Delhi XI at the Ferozeshah Kotla on September 29. However according to latest news reports, the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) has expressed the its inability to host this game. Even the fourth Test, which is scheduled to be held between December 3 to 7 is in doubt under current circumstances. The DDCA vice-president Chetan Chauhan has already informed Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about DDCA’s possible incompetence to host the warm-up match at the end of this month due to ‘internal politics’. It is being learnt according to our sources, the work on the pitch hasn’t started yet. READ: Tickets at Wankhede Stadium to cost around Rs.1000
Talking with the DNA, the groundsman said, “The DDCA League was over in June. The ground was to be handed over to the curator right away. But it was handed over to us in the second half of August,” The pitch area, which is six inches deep, was dug up to lay fresh grass only last week. “The DDCA is, perhaps, doing all it can to not host the Test match. The lack of governmental clearances will certainly come in handy at that time to cite as an excuse,” said a senior official. READ: Graeme Smith says India tour will be tough challenge for
In a candid confession to DNA, Chauhan also admitted that “there were three main reasons which forced me to write to BCCI”. Firstly, I was not sure about the Kotla wicket as this involved an international team like South Africa. Secondly, everyone knows that we’ve some controversy going on within our organisation [DDCA] which is hampering some of the work at the Kotla. Thirdly, and most importantly, was that we need various permissions from NDMC [New Delhi Municipal Corporation] and MCD [Municipal Corporation of Delhi] before hosting any international matches,” Chauhan said.
Talking about the possibilities of hosting the Test match, Chauhan said, “We have time on our hands. The Test match is two months away and I am hopeful that we will procure the required permissions by then.” The Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced last week that “corruption cases in DDCA will soon be probed by a high-level commission of inquiry”. This will only compound the problems of DDCA.
