‘Ye sab stadium me hona chahiye’ – Fans react as Bengal chief urges Narendra Modi Stadium to facilitate covering ground entirely before 2023 World Cup

The 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is finally over with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) lifting the title for the fifth time by defeating the defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) in a thrilling final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. However, the final which was scheduled to be played on May 28 began a day later because of the rain. On the reserve day as well, the play was stopped for a long time after the first as rain once again decided to play a spoilsport.

However, the match was finally resumed at midnight with the overs getting reduced in the second innings. Speaking about this, Cricket Association of Bengal President, Snehasish Ganguly said that the Narendra Modi Stadium can take a cue from the Eden Gardens in Kolkata and cover full ground during the rain. He said this looking at the upcoming ODI World Cup that is scheduled to be hosted by India later in the year.

“The delay was because the side wickets got wet. It’s a new stadium, and I’m sure it will be rectified in due course. It’s not a big issue. If they cover the full ground, there won’t be this issue anymore,” said Snehasish as quoted in Rediff.com.

I am pretty sure they will have it before the World Cup: Snehasish

Notably, Eden Gardens is the only stadium in India that gets its ground fully covered during the rain. This concept was introduced by using local plastic in the inaugural season of IPL in 2008 when Snehasish was the assistant secretary under then-president Prasun Mukherjee. Later, when the former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly became President of CAB, he had the covers imported from England and the stadium has never witnessed a washout since then.

“It’s a learning process. You are learning every day. I am pretty sure they will have it before the World Cup. Like Eden Gardens, if GCA have a provision for this (full cover), they will overcome this problem. They have got all the facilities. They have a sand-based ground, and a perfect drainage system in place to flush out water in quick time,” Snehasish said.

“But side wickets won’t have sand and if rain percolates then there would be an issue. But if they get a full cover, it will be solved. It’s not a big deal. You just need to employ 40-50 people extra to get it fully covered,” he added.