Eden Gardens not ready to host cricket World Cup: ICC

Cricket's governing body said today that Kolkata's Eden Gardens stadium would not be ready to host its first World Cup game, an India-England clash on February 27. The ICC did not say where the game would be played. Three other fixtures are scheduled to take place in Kolkata.

Cricket's governing body said on Thursday that Kolkata's Eden Gardens stadium would not be ready to host its first World Cup game, an India-England clash on February 27.

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"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.

The ICC did not say where the game would be played. Three other fixtures are scheduled to take place in Kolkata.

The decision is bound to cause intense disappointment in cricket-crazy Kolkata, where an estimated 80,000 spectators were expected to pack the famous stadium, and will severely embarrass the Indian organisers.

Eden Gardens, the home of cricket in India and one of the world's most famous venues, is undergoing a major renovation, but construction work has been delayed.