BCCI sets March 17 deadline for Delhi
The Indian cricket board said it wants the Ferozeshah Kotla ready, a full month before it hosts the sixth ODI.
The Indian cricket board on Saturday gave DDCA a deadline of March 17 to prepare the Ferozeshah Kotla ground for hosting the Indo-Pak One-Day International next month.
"March 17, which will be exactly a month before the match is slated to be held on April 17, will be the deadline for the ground to get ready to host the match," BCCI's pitches and grounds committee chairman Venkat Sundaram said.
"This was an initial inspection and we will be coming again after the Mohali Test for a final inspection," he said after monitoring the renovation work at the Ferozeshah Kotla.
Venkat Sundaram said he was satisfied with the pace of work and the effort being made by the authorities to ensure the ground is ready for the match.
"I am happy with the tremendous effort being made. I am also impressed by the pace of work in progress," he said.
Delhi, which has not been allotted an international match for close to three years, is scheduled to host the sixth and final match of the One-Day International series between the arch-rivals on April 17.
As no one knows "how the pitch will behave," Sundaram asked the DDCA to conduct some matches to acsertain the nature of the track.
Recalling the abandoned match against Sri Lanka in Indore, he said, "I don't want Indore to repeat here. It is an international match and all standards will have to be met.
"We don't want DDCA to be banned by ICC for poor standards of ground. BCCI will not compromise on the quality of ground standards," he said.
DDCA Secretary Chetan Chauhan said a local level match would be staged on March 12, a day before the second inspection will be made by the Pitches Committee.
"We will also explore the possibility of conducting some more matches before March 20," he added.
