Sakyasen Mittra
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Oct 7: Cricket lovers in the state shouldn’t be surprised if international cricket stays away from Barabati Stadium for the next three years. If sources within BCCI and ICC are to be believed, strict sanctions are in the offing for the Orissa Cricket Association because of the crowd trouble that interrupted the game for 19 and 24 minutes during the India-South Africa tie played Monday.
What has irked the cricket authorities within BCCI is the OCA’s decision to allow water bottles inside the stadium. A BCCI directive clearly states that water bottles shouldn’t be allowed inside any of the stadiums in the country during international matches and also the host association is responsible for providing water to the spectators in case they feel thirsty. However, OCA flouted the rule which the other affiliated units of the BCCI have been following studiously since the violence-marred India-Sri Lanka 1996 World Cup game.
“The duration of the sanctions will be taken after the board gets a full report of the match from the observer,” a senior BCCI official stated Monday on conditions of anonymity. “But what has happened is not good for the game. Our aim is to spread cricket to smaller centres. I am sure that from now on visiting teams will not want to play at Barabati,” he added.
In allotment of matches to various centres, BCCI politics does play some role. The new BCCI management has also not taken too kindly the delay OCA took in joining hands with them after the demise of Jagmohan Dalmiya. The alleged presence of a top OCA official in a meeting conducted by N Srinivasan in Bangalore has not gone down very well with the likes of Anurag Thakur and Shashank Manohar. Efforts were on to bring a couple of matches of the T20 Worlds, next year to Barabati. One can safely say that it won’t happen.
