A booster shot of sand has been injected into the Eden Gardens turf to make rainwater seep underground quickly and keep the surface from becoming slushy should a shower play spoilsport during a game.

Eden needn't wait long to test the efficacy of this remedy since the ICC World T20 coincides with the season of the Nor'wester, the pre-monsoon storm that has been the player of the match in several high-profile washouts.

Members of the Eden Gardens ground staff said sand had been added recently to the top layer of the ground, below which lies a network of trenches with perforated pipes, pebbles and sand meant to drain out rainwater from the outfield quickly.

According to curators, the natural composition of the top layer at Eden makes the turf almost impermeable, leading to puddles forming even after 15 minutes of rain. The high clay content of the soil also makes even a slightly wet outfield muddy, something that the Super Soppers can't rectify.

The most recent instance of a match at Eden being rained out was on October 8 last year, when the T20 tie between India and South Africa had to be abandoned without a ball being bowled. Sourav Ganguly's first international match as president of the Cricket Association of Bengal became a source of embarrassment because the outfield couldn't be made fit for play even after six hours of trying to dry it. And this was after just 14.2mm of rain in the afternoon.

Earlier in the year, an IPL match had been washed out.

Storms in Calcutta at this time of the year usually come from the northwest, hitting the city late in the afternoon or evening. Since limited-overs fixtures start either at 3.30pm or 7.30pm, there is every chance of a match being affected by a storm.

Eden's poor drainage has been one problem the CAB hasn't been able to solve. Since the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in neighbouring Dhaka hosted the India-Bangladesh Asia Cup final on March 6 even after torrential rain, Eden is possibly under stricter scrutiny for the World T20.

Sources said a 40-strong team of workers drilled holes six to eight millimetres in diameter and three inches deep across the outfield a few months ago in a bid to increase its capacity to drain out water. The holes, two inches apart, were filled with a mix of sand and organic matter before grass seeds were sown on the surface.

Grass grows well on a mix of sand and organic matter, according to Tim Denham, who has worked on golf courses that are part of the PGA Tour. He is currently in Calcutta to tend the course at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC).

"On many grounds, the grass is allowed to grow on a layer of soil laid on top of the network of trenches and pipes. But this defeats the purpose of installing the perforated pipes to a large extent as water can't seep through the top easily and reach the pipes," Denham explained.

The grass at Eden used to be grown entirely over its natural surface. The injection of sand is an effort to change the character of the top layer in terms of making it more porous.

According to Denham, who has worked on the PGA Tour for 15 years, the process called coring or "core aerifying" was a step in the right direction if the ground staff wanted to improve the drainage capacity of the soil. But doing it once isn't enough. The process needs to be repeated preferably thrice a year or at least twice.

"Making the top layer porous is a part of the exercise, but finally you are looking at changing the composition of the soil. Otherwise, it will continue to become slushy when heavy machines work on it after rainfall," Denham said.

The challenge for the CAB, which has a packed schedule of domestic and club matches apart from international fixtures, is to find three such month-long windows for soil treatment.

"We have engaged a Lucknow-based agency for coring. We are aware that it is a continuous process. We will do whatever the experts prescribe to keep the ground in shape," said Biswarup Dey, the CAB treasurer.

But would the Eden Gardens be able to see off the World T20 without a washout in the event of a pre-monsoon storm striking on a match day? "You can't fight the elements beyond a point, but we are better equipped than before to dry out the ground if rain comes before or during any of the games," Dey said.

Eden's World T20 schedule started on Wednesday with a Pakistan-Bangladesh match and ends with the men's and women's final on April 3. In between, there is the marquee match of the Super 10 stage featuring India and Pakistan on Saturday and Bangladesh versus New Zealand on March 26.

Whether the sand-injection strategy works would be known if a Nor'wester hits town on any of these match days, although fans who have procured tickets after much difficulty would rather have a dry Eden than a quickly draining Eden.

Have you ever returned from Eden without seeing a ball being bowled? Tell ttmetro@abpmail.com