The International Cricket Council (ICC) team visited the Dharamsala Cricket Stadium this afternoon and did a recce of the venue for the upcoming World Cup. The team returned satisfied with the preparations at the picturesque venue and will be sharing their observations in a report.
IPL chairman Arun Dhumal, who has served as Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association chief in the past, told News18 CricketNext that it was a “routine visit” by a team of the global cricketing body.
“Yes, a team of ICC and BCCI was at the venue this afternoon and inspected our facilities and took stock of our preparations during their routine visit. They were very pleased with the new outfield and the pitches and will soon be sharing their further observations in a detailed report. We have been working on the venue since the last one year and it is now completely ready for World Cup matches,” says Dhumal.
Dharamsala will host five World Cup fixtures, including the India-New Zealand clash on October 22.
The venue underwent massive changes in the last 12 months as the entire outfield was redone and a lot of work was done on the square too.
Due to the upgrade work, India-Australia Test was moved out of Dharamsala earlier this year but the venue attracted a lot of praise from former and current cricketers during the IPL fixtures it hosted in the summer.
“We have done a lot of work on the outfield. And if you ask the players who were here doing the IPL, they would tell you about the quality of outfield, grass and the pitches we have here. It is absolutely world class and we have spent lot of time and effort to ensure it remains top standard even during the extreme weather conditions. Former Australia cricketer Matthew Hayden, who was doing commentary during the IPL, was very impressed with the outfield and even asked whether it is artificial or real grass. The quality is that good,” says Dhumal.
World class drainage system
Former BCCI treasurer Dhumal further explained that the drainage system at the stadium provides more oxygen to the roots of the grass in the outfield and keeps it lush and green.
“The drainage system we have here is such that more oxygen reaches the roots of the grass and keeps it more fresh and green. So you can’t really differentiate whether it’s real or artificial grass. It is that lush and green,” explains Dhumal.
Even after doing extensive work, Dhumal wanted to see how the outfield and drainage would respond to the rains and was pleased to see the results during incessant downpours this monsoon.
“You all saw how much rain Himachal received this monsoon and how much it generally receives during the year. It was kind of litmus test for our outfield and drainage facilities and we were pleased to see the results. The ground dried up in no time and the results were consistent right through the monsoon,” informs Dhumal.
No major suggestions from ICC team
On the ICC visit, Dhumal said the broadcast and branding teams wanted their inspections ahead of the multi-nation event and no major changes/suggestions were made as the venue already has provisions for whatever is needed for a World Cup fixture.
“From a broadcast stand point, we already have provisions for different boxes and also space to have separate boxes for radio commentary. So that wasn’t an issue. Moreover, the branding/marketing team wanted to do a venue tour to figure out in-stadia branding and advertising,” says Dhumal.
The ICC team has finished recce of most of the World Cup 2023 venues and are likely to make a stop to Lucknow this week. Lucknow will be hosting the India-England fixture and will also host Australia’s two matches vs South Africa and Sri Lanka respectively.
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