One of India’s oldest cricket venues, Kanpur’s Green Park stadium, came under fire over the last weekend after two days of play in the second and final Test match between India and Bangladesh was abandoned despite no rain. BCCI, however, ended their silence on the fiasco amid the Indian team’s batting carnage on Day 4, with vice-president Rajiv Shukla serving a gentle reminder that Kanpur was once a “permanent Test centre” in India.
Fans on social media were not happy after poor outfield conditions led to no action on Days 2 and 3 of the second Test. Few even highlighted the glaring errors on social media as they lashed out at the BCCI, labeling Kanpur the “worst venue.” In fact, the wet patches around the outfield region and one near the bowler’s run-up area sparked questions about the venue’s poor drainage system.
However, Shukla, speaking to the media on Monday on the sidelines of the action on Day 4, defended the facilities at the Green Park Stadium. He said: “Well, criticism is one thing which we are used to in the administration of the BCCI in cricket. But everything is being criticised. When we are not giving matches to Kanpur because [of certain reasons], then also I was being criticised. Now we are giving the match and I am still being criticised why it has been given to Kanpur. So that goes on.
“You know the problem is that this ground is around 80 years old. It is our heritage ground. If you remember it used to be a permanent Test centre. The original six permanent Test centres were Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Kanpur. This is a permanent centre. So the whole idea was to have Test matches here. This is the first time in 80 years that it rained so much that we were not able to host the match for two days.”
‘History suggests that no match in Kanpur…’
The primary concern of the fans, and more so among the experts, was that the abandoned Days 2 and 3 sparked a large possibility of a drawn result in Kanpur, which could leave India in a tricky position as they chase a third consecutive qualification in the WTC final.
Shukla, who hails from Kanpur, reminded that Green Park had never witnessed an abandoned match, although he conceded that the drainage system does need an improvement.
“The history suggests that no match has been abandoned here in Kanpur. There are many venues in the world where because of the rains, matches have been abandoned. So here if for two days the match couldn’t take place, I don’t think there should be too much hue and cry,” Shukla said. “When this ground was being built, and the stadium was being built, then those technologies were not available. Now technologies are available. Like in our Lucknow stadium, we have got that technology. And in Varanasi, we are building another stadium. There we have got high-tech, modern technology to take away the rainwater.
“Here also we are planning. “The moment I came here, I had a long discussion with government officials because this stadium belongs to the government. We are in agreement with them. So, now for that, the ground has to be dug, new technology has to be applied and everything has to be done. So, immediately after coming here, I had a discussion with the authorities and they are also on the same page and I think we will be able to improve the conditions here shortly.”
