CAB chief Dalmiya says ICC delegation satisfied with Eden Gardens' renovation progress
CAB chief Dalmiya says ICC delegation satisfied with Eden Gardens' renovation progress
Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Jagmohan Dalmiya was beaming with confidence after a three-member International Cricket Council (ICC) delegation carried out a thorough inspection of the facilities at the Eden Gardens yesterday.
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| A member of the ICC inspection team at the Eden Gardens, one of the venues for the World Cup, in Kolkata yesterday. Pic/AFP |
Dalmiya said: "They (ICC delegates) were happy with the work done. Eden Gardens will have no problem in hosting World Cup matches. We are putting finishing touches to it."
The visiting ICC team, comprising stadium consultant Eugene Van Vuuren, general commercial manager Campbell Jamieson and event manager Chris Tetley, spent over three hours at the Eden inspecting the preparations ahead of the mega event, which kicks off on February 19.
Tournament director and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty and BCCI operations in-charge Suru Nayak accompanied the delegation.
It is learnt that only 15,000 bucket seats are left to be installed in Block B and C. CAB joint secretary Biswarup Dey assured that the work would be done in four-five days. "We have got a green signal from the ICC. The bucket seats will be installed in next four to five days," Dey told MiD DAY.
The local officials have been asked to complete installing the bucket seats before January 31.u00a0u00a0
There was more good news for cricket lovers as West Bengal's finance minister Asim Dasgupta announced there would be no entertainment tax on World Cup tickets in Kolkata.
Dalmiya and Dey called on Dasgupta earlier this month and requested him not to levy the 20 per cent entertainment tax on the four games.
Eden Gardens is scheduled to host India-England game on Feb 27, Ireland vs South Africa (March 15), Ireland vs Netherlands (March 18) and Kenya vs Zimbabwe (March 20).
