Keenan: No one to play

Jamshedpur, Sept. 26: Taking a dig at the decision of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) for forfeiting the India-England ODI slated for Novem- ber 23 here, Tata Steel, the custodian of Keenan Stadium, today termed the act of JSCA a move taken in haste.

The company’s corporate communications chief Sanjay Choudhry said in a news communiqué that JSCA had taken a hasty step without consulting the company, as Tata Steel had always maintained that the request from JSCA was “under active consideration” and the engineers’ report on the status of the galleries was awaited.

Choudhry said the Tata Steel came to know from news reports that the JSCA has declared to the BCCI that it was not in a position to hold the ODI at the Keenan because the Tata Steel had not made the stadium available to them for safety reasons.

“We are aware of the interest of the people of Jamshedpur in the ODI and so were expediting the process of inspection. The JSCA had been only writing letters and giving media interviews but never considered it important to discuss the details with the steel company.”

“Tata Steel has always been committed to the cause of all sports and has done yeoman’s service to it through making massive investments as well as through its management of sports in the state.

The efforts are visible in the shape of the number of Arjuna awardees and national-level sportspersons that have come out of the company’s sports management system in numerous sporting disciplines. The Tata Steel remains committed to this objective,” Choudhry stated.

The city-based sports associations have justified the Tata Steel’s concern for safety of spectators. Senior functionaries of the state swimming, boxing, badminton, handball and weightlifting associations, Jamshedpur Sporting Association and the representatives of sports clubs said that nobody should compromise with the safety of spectators.

They added that JSCA should have adopted the right approach while requesting the steel major for allotting the Keenan for the ODI.

“Losing the match and blaming the Tata Steel for it is absolutely wrong. The Tatas have done a lot for sports in the state as well as the country,” said Rambalak Singh, the president of Jharkhand Swimming Association.

Anil Kumar Jayswal, the secretary of the state boxing association, added that the cricket body should have had been more submissive in approaching the Tata Steel.

“I think there had been some communication gap between both the parties,” he added.