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| BCCI chief administrative officer R.S. Shetty (centre) with ACA office-bearers at Guwahati on Thursday. Picture by UB Photos |
Guwahati, March 14: The BCCI is going to convene a tripartite meeting very soon to help Assam Cricket Association (ACA) expedite the construction of the cricket stadium at Barsapara ground here.
Visiting the stadium being built since 2006, BCCI chief administrative officer Prof. R.S. Shetty yesterday termed the progress of work as tardy and took stock of the present position with engineers. The association is constructing the stadium primarily with funds from the BCCI.
“After his visit to the stadium site where he was told that the it was because of the delay on the part of the (Mumbai-based) consultant architect Sashi Prabhu and associates in submission of designs that the work has been delayed, Prof. Shetty told us that a tripartite meeting of the BCCI, ACA and the architect would be convened soon in Mumbai. The meeting will try to find ways to expedite the project,” ACA secretary Bikash Baruah said.
The stadium is expected to be completed by the end of next year. The ground and pitches were used for BCCI matches since October last year. “The ground is one of the best in the country. I have had discussions with the curators regarding the preparation of the pitches. It will be very good for wickets when completed,” Shetty told reporters here yesterday.
Impressed with the crowd turnout for the Deodhar Trophy semi-finals and final at Nehru Stadium here in the last two days, Shetty said: “This is very encouraging. Sometimes, even test matches do not attract such a crowd. Keeping in view the crowd’s enthusiasm, Guwahati can hope to see bigger tournaments in the near future.”
He also suggested that the ACA seek Indian Premier League matches once the new stadium was completed, claimed Baruah. “Prof. Shetty also complimented us on the improved Nehru Stadium wickets. He said our players have improved their performance this time because they had better quality wickets,” said Baruah. This was the first time Shetty visited Guwahati.
The wicket, prepared by ACA curator Ratul Das and assisted by cricketer Mukut Kalita, drew compliments from almost all the players in the Deodhar Trophy tournament.
Test captain Parthiv Patel described it as “a good one-day wicket”.
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