Argha Bhattacharya
Bhubaneswar, March 30: After having successfully arranged camps for both the Orissa women’s and men’s cricket team, KIIT is gearing up for its first giant venture, that is to host the Super League Group-A matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy starting April 1 featuring Gujarat, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
The OCA was on the lookout for a standard ground in Bhubaneswar and as the KIIT ground met their demands, so it got the green signal. “As Bhubaneswar has high quality hotels and the airport is close, so KIIT was the obvious choice,” said Gaganendu Dash, director of sports, Monday.
The stadium is surrounded by grass banks on two sides and they have the capacity to host 25,000 spectators. Six camera stands have been fitted as the official broadcaster of the BCCI, ‘Star Sports’ will record the matches. The boundaries are 90 yards on either side of the wicket but only 65-70 yards will be required for T20 matches. The outfield is lush green and is expected to be lightning quick. Out of the five pitches prepared, the middle three will be used for the matches.
“BCCI’s chief curator, Ashish Bhowmick had visited the stadium a couple of weeks back. He is quite satisfied with the wicket and ground conditions. We have a pitch curator and three groundsmen of our own” informed Gaganendu.
There are four rooms which includes a dining room for the match officials and BCCI selectors. Also there is a big dining hall for the players.
The security out here is very tight with the state police department taking adequate measures. Members of the BCCI’s anti-corruption unit will also be present. The entire field has been surrounded by wire meshing to prevent the entry of spectators.
