Guwahati, Oct. 9: Barsapara Cricket Stadium has replaced Nehru Stadium as an international venue here but the latter's emotional connect with the cricketing fraternity remains as strong as ever.

This was apparent during discussions with Assam Cricket Association officials and players about the state-of-the-art Barsapara getting ready for its debut international fixture with the India-Australia T20 match tomorrow. Reference to the multi-purpose Nehru Stadium's epochal journey would crop up often as a cricketing venue and a must-visit centre for aspiring and established cricketers. For generations, it was cricket's home till the game's guardians decided to have an exclusive, permanent hub at Barsapara which started hosting Ranji matches from 2013.

Cricketer-turned-curator Mukut Kalita said, 'Barsapara was inevitable. We badly needed an exclusive stadium like Barsapara. It is a welcome change but Nehru Stadium will remain close to our heart. Barring the present generation, most cricketers learnt their ABC there. We played and hosted so many matches there.'

Nehru Stadium has hosted 15 ODIs since 1983. Before that it had hosted visiting national teams for zonal matches.

It was tough organising a match at Nehru Stadium since all kinds of sports, from football to kho kho, used to be played there. The ground had to be closed for all activities nearly three months in advance, causing a lot of heartburn among those associated with other sports and the Board of Sports which is in charge of the ground. ACA officials concede that despite the adjustments, it was always 'fun' organising an ODI at Nehru Stadium as it helped them 'grow' as organisers, the result of which is Barsapara. Such was the attachment with the ground that most from the fraternity, in the initial days of cricketing activities shifting to Barsapara, headed for Nehru Stadium.

BCCI scorer-cum-statistician Tapash Roy said, 'I have been visiting the ground since the eighties. By way of habit, I used to head towards Nehru Stadium instead of Barsapara. It is the future but Nehru Stadium will remain special. We have so many fond memories of the ground despite the adjustments we had to make covering the matches there.It made men out of us.'

Roy, the Duckworth Lewis manager for tomorrow's game, will be doing all the math if the match is shortened because of rain, just like the first match at Ranchi which India won at a canter.

Nazib Gul Khan, who runs a sports shop near the stadium, said, 'We are happy about Barsapara but we miss the carnival-like atmosphere on the eve of ODIs at Nehru Stadium. Since the first match, boys from our locality used to man the manual scoreboard. There is a special connect with it as a cricket venue.'

It's not all gloomy for Nehru Stadium as a section in the government is trying to convert it into a state-of-the-art football venue. At present, it is being used as a practice venue for the Guwahati leg of the Fifa under-17 World Cup.

SAI regional director Subhash Basumatary said, 'Nehru Stadium could easily be converted into a state-of-the-art football stadium. It is an opportunity for the famed stadium to start a new journey. There is a lot to celebrate about Nehru Stadium. It is not history.' Most share Basumatary's sentiments as Nehru Stadium, located in the heart of the city, has more than practice matches to offer. There is still a lot to relish and dream about the stadium, with or without cricket.