ICC pleased with new look of Kolkata's Eden Gardens

Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Jagmohan Dalmiya has done it again. Having lost the right to hold the coveted India-England World Cup match, scheduled at the Eden Gardens, he has ensured that all renovation work at the historical ground is complete so that the venue isn’t stripped off the remaining three matches to be held in Kolkata.

Known for his tactical acumen and administrative qualities, he was considered a spent force after the International Cricket Council (ICC) stripped the historical Eden Gardens of the February 27 match — considered to be the biggest revenue earning match in the group stages.

Having kept quite all this while, he let his actions do the talking as he took the ICC team visiting the Eden for the first of the final three inspections on Monday. The other two inspections are slated for February 14 and 22.

After it found incomplete work on January 25 —debris lying all over and more than 50 per cent of the work still left to be completed — the ICC inspection team had deemed the ground unfit to host the February 27 match.

They even raised the question whether the venue would be ready for the next three matches — South Africa-Ireland match on March 15, the Ireland-Netherland game on March 18 and the Zimbabwe- Kenya clash on March 20.

But on Monday, the ICC team members left with a smile on their faces. After all, nobody wants a historical venue like the Eden Gardens to miss out on hosting World Cup matches. Although the official report will be submitted to the CAB on Tuesday, an ICC official confirmed that the team was happy with the progress and things look in order.

“We were stunned when we visited the Eden on January 25. Most of the work looked incomplete. But this time round, the work put in must be appreciated. The effort is commendable. Although we will carry on with our inspections on February 14 and 22, we are happy with the progress,” he said.

As of now, Eden looks set to hold the remaining three matches. A CAB official, who refused to be named, confirmed that unlike the last time, the ICC team was happy with the work put in by CAB and they looked pleased when they left the ground.

“Last time they misjudged the situation. One has to realise that we start work only 20 days ahead of the match. Maybe, the ICC pressed the panic button a bit too early. But they looked pleased with the arrangements put in place by us and we should be awarded the right to hold the remaining three matches. We don’t expect a googly this time round,” he said.

Commenting on ICC’s stance on the construction of the roof on the stands, he said: “Construction of the roof was definitely on the cards as per the initial drawing, but later we decided to complete it after the fourth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The ICC has agreed and the roofs will be constructed after the IPL.”

Rumours doing the rounds are that Dalmiya wants the India- England game to be back at the Eden now that it is ready for cricketing action even ahead of the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Will the ICC concede?