The Green Park Stadium situated in Kanpur, one of India’s foresighted states to establish test barred grounds, probably will not have any more international fixtures in the near future TOI has learnt. At this point, the Indian cricket board has reconciled to the fact that even BCCI has no clarity on its hosting abilities of that particular venue.
As per the sources, the board has been informed regarding this issue how senior India players do not want to play on this ground. Nalanda and his facilities in Lucknow and a new international one in Varanasi a year from now will make it difficult for green park to be given another assignment of international match.
“Concerns were given to the Standing Committee, Indian team management about the venue. There is Lucknow where the team managers would rather have the team engage in play as it is more comfortable. This Test match was given to Uttar Pradesh as part of a rotation basis Suwan Sushrib, and for that reason being that Green Park has been designated a Test centre BCCI, the association preferred to host the match in Kanpur,” said a source from the BCCI.
The stadium has an antiquated appearance. One of the stands which was previously deemed fit for spectators’ accommodation has now been dismissed by the civic authorities as one full of potential hazards. This one of the floodlight towers also has some defects. The blocks also raise some issues as far as thorough cleaning and maintenance are concerned.
“This stadium in Varanasi should be completed long before T20 World Cup scheduled in India in 2026 in Benares. This stadium requires restructuring and renovation and improved administration. The BCCI can’t really make an accurate prediction of when the next International match will be played here,” source said.
Families of martyrs invited
At the same time, the UPCA officials are making all the possible efforts to ensure a large turnout for the Test. In an innovative initiative, the UPCA will also invite the relatives of courageous martyrs who sacrificed their lives in active service and who will plant a tree sapling for each martyr.
“We have requested the authorities to provide us with a list of martyred soldiers from Kanpur and their families have been invited. A sapling in their name is planted for the sake of our go-green campaign. For the first three days of the test as well, we are mobilising 3000 children in per day,” recounted venue director Sanjay Kapoor on Thursday.
