The pitches of Keenan Stadium will no longer remain a batsman's paradise.
With Tata Steel sports department switching gears to lay fresh wickets at the landmark stadium, medium-pacers can look forward to effectively swing and cut the ball.
All the five pitches at the centre will wear a new look in the months to come. Excavation has already started and the area near the pitches has been cordoned off. "Besides laying new pitches, we are also going to deck up the outfield. In fact, the Keenan pitches needed attention as the ones which existed had become very old," Tata sports wing administrator Mukul Choudhry told The Telegraph.
He added the outfield should be ready by June-end but laying the pitches was a time consuming process.
The tracks at the Keenan, which has hosted 10 ODIs till date, needed serious attention thanks to wear and tear. There was no pace in the pitch and batsmen had ample time to play their shots. The tracks were graveyard for pacers.
Once ready, the Keenan pitch will wear a grassy look, a vital ingredient for a fast wicket and, of course, a delight for the pacers.
"Maintaining pitches is a regular practice at any cricket venues. But same had not been the case with Keenan. Rolling and line marking was a feature in lead-up and during matches," a groundsman said.
Besides hosting Ranji Trophy and other BCCI matches, Keenan hosts the JSCA local league matches as engagements of Tata Steel, which owns the stadium.
The new pitches will also held the Tata sports wing to organising training for wannabe players of the city. "We will also use the pitches for conducting our training programme," Choudhry added.
Tata sports wing runs a cricket training centre at JRD Tata Sports Complex. But the area where the exercise is conducted is small. So, Keenan will obviously be a handy option.
Athletics
Jharkhand athletes won one gold and silver each at the 13th national youth athletics championship-2016 in Kozhikode on Friday. Nitu Kumari won gold in 1,500m sprint while Sapna Kumar won silver in 100m hurdles.
