Eden Gardens WC fiasco: Pranab Mukherjee to meet Sharad Pawar
By ANISunday, January 30, 2011
KOLKATA - Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will meet International Cricket Council (ICC) President Shard Pawar over the impasse of holding the India-England World Cup cricket match at the Eden Gardens.
“(Cricket Association of Bengal) president Jagmohan Dalmiya came to me on Saturday. I had a talk with him. I am not familiar with the matter so much. I will, however, talk to Sharad Pawar,” Mukherjee told reporters here.
Dalmiya held a closed-door meeting with Mukherjee for about 25 minutes
On Thursday, the Jagmohan Dalmiya-led Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) had lashed out at the ICC and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for its decision to shift an India-England World Cup match from the Eden Gardens to another venue.
The ICC and the BCCI took the decision on the ground that the cricket stadium is still undergoing renovation and construction, and hence, would not be ready for the match.
Crying foul, the CAB said that the ground is match fit and termed the decision to shift the match as a “conspiracy” against Bengal cricket.
CAB officials said that they had not been informed by the ICC or the BCCI about the decision, and added that the ground is fully ready and the problem was only with the galleries.
Earlier, the ICC had in consultation with the Indian cricket board decided to shift the 2011 World Cup match between India and England from the Eden Gardens here, as renovation and construction work has been delayed.
The ICC said that the Eden Gardens stadium would not be ready to host its first World Cup game on February 27.
“Regrettably, Eden Gardens has not made sufficient progress to justify the level of confidence required to confirm that the venue would be ready in good time,” International Cricket Council chief executive Haroon Lorgat said in a statement. (ANI)
