The BCCI vice president, Rajiv Shukla, announced on Monday that the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA), of which he is a member, is in discussions with the state government to improve Green Park in Kanpur, which is the site of the current Test match between Bangladesh and India.
The move was made after the weather caused play on Days 2 and 3 of the event to be canceled. There was no rain at the location on Sunday, despite a few brief periods of rainfall on Saturday. Nevertheless, not a single ball was bowled because of the damp outfield.
“Sometimes it happens, though we all pray to Lord Indra, that it should not rain, but, you know, it happens. And it happens throughout the world. So, why unnecessarily Kanpur and Green Park are being blamed for something which is in nature’s hands?” Shukla, who has previously served as the president of the association, said on the sidelines of the second Test.
“This is the first time in 80 years that it has rained so much that we were not able to host the match for two days. But history suggests that no match has been abandoned here. There are lot many venues in the world where because of the rains, matches have been abandoned. Because when this ground was being built, a stadium was being built, then those technologies were not available.
“Now technologies are available. Like in our Lucknow stadium, we have got that technology. And in Varanasi, we are building another stadium. There we have high-tech, modern technology to take away the water.
“Today I had a discussion with the administration on how we can develop this system by which the rainy water can immediately be soaked. Immediately after coming here (Green Park), I had a discussion with the authorities and they are also on the same page.
“I think we will be able to improve the conditions here shortly. We will get some time to improve the conditions of the ground and that work will be picked up. The moment I came here, I had a long discussion with government officials because this stadium belongs to the government. We are in agreement with them. So, now for that, ground has to be dug up, new technology has to be applied and everything has to be done.”
Only twice in the last eight years has the UPCA, which has favored to hold its more prominent games at the newly renovated and modernized Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, staged Test cricket in Kanpur. Shukla dismissed the criticism leveled at the venue for its inability to produce any cricket during a few brief periods of drizzle and defended the notion that Test cricket should be taken across the nation rather than being restricted to a few locations, as some present and former players have suggested.
“We have to go by the rotation policy,” he said. “Also, India has got now a lot many venues, which Australia and other countries don’t have. And we have to provide opportunities for all of them.
“Sometimes what happens is that those cities where people get to see a lot many matches…IPL is also there, and then WPL is also there, then the World Cup is also there, and bilateral matches are also there. So, the number of spectators goes down in those cities, because people are used to watching, you know, these T20 and one-day cricket and all that. So, that’s why this idea was floated that in B-grade cities, where we have infrastructure, we should organize Test matches so that more and more people are attracted to it.
“Look here (in Kanpur), it’s almost packed. And even on the last two days when there was rain, a lot of people turned up to watch the match. That means there is appetite. People are eager to watch cricket.”
