Teams from both the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will inspect the Arun Jaitley Stadium in the third week of July to take stock of the situation ahead of the 50-over World Cup later this year. The venue, set to host five fixtures of the marquee event, will undergo an upgrade before the tournament gets underway.
“ICC and BCCI will do an inspection of the venue in the third week of July and will then accordingly share their feedback. Depending on that feedback, we will undertake remedial measures, if any, before the World Cup,” informs DDCA joint secretary Rajan Manchanda on the sidelines of the Special General Meeting (SGM) of the cricketing body.
The venue has seen some major electrical upgrades during the off-season and it now has “state of the art” panelling of all major electrical equipment.
“All the floodlights and other major electrical equipment in the venue, which is required on match days, has been well panelled now. We wanted to upgrade that set-up and it is now state of the art,” says Manchanda.
The historic stadium will undergo some cosmetic changes, extensive repair and upgradation of seats in the stands and a lot of civil work. Washrooms on the premises will remain of utmost importance and will be renovated before the World Cup starts.
“A lot of civil work will be done before the World Cup. No major changes to the venue but just a lot of repair and upgrade work on the seats in the stands and then the washrooms. Washrooms will remain our key focus and we want to have the facilities in order for the important event,” says Manchanda.
There were talks within the senior management on getting a digital scoreboard installed in the stadium but it’s unlikely to happen before the World Cup and DDCA will continue with the traditional manual scoreboard placed next to the Gautam Gambhir stand.
“We will continue with this traditional scoreboard only for now. When it’s operational, it looks very good. Gives that old-world charm, a slightly traditional feel to the match. It looks really good,” says Manchanda.
Delhi will host five 2023 World Cup matches, including the India vs Afghanistan fixture on October 11.
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