Cuttack unlikely to host third ODI between India and Windies
Windies are set to tour India in December 2019 to play white-ball cricket, consisting of three ODIs and T20Is. Meanwhile, the venue of the third ODI could become a headache for the BCCI. While the selected venue is the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, the damages suffered by the stadium due to Cyclone Fani, earlier this year, might force the board to change its decision.
OCA doesn't have funds to carry out renovation works
As of now, the match is slated to be held in December 22. However, as per a report by SportsCafe, the damages the stadium has sustained owing to the Cyclone Fani are humongous. Moreover, the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) is in no position to carry out renovations quick enough to host the match, as the body doesn't have enough funds.
Barabati suffered heavy damages due to Cyclone Fani
Cyclone Fani impacted the stadium in a severe manner. As many as 60 lights fell off the floodlight tower due to heavy windfall, which hit the state on May 3. Further, the roof of the New Pavilion and Gallery Number 5 were blown away by the strong winds, while the digital scoreboard frame too was shaken off its place.
OCA has demanded Rs. 5 crore from BCCI for renovation
Meanwhile, the report also adds that the OCA has demanded a sum of Rs. 5 crore from the BCCI in order to carry out the required renovation and recovery work, in case it has to be match-ready. However, the board is reluctant to give any money to the association for now, until the BCCI Annual General Meeting in October 23.
Getting floodlight ready itself to take a month, say OCA
An OCA functionary said that getting the floodlights ready would take around a month, as bulbs need to be changed in all the eight towers. "It would have been alright to replace a few but after Kapil Dev's company checked the bulbs, they found out that total installation is required in order to make the light properly functional," said the functionary.
BCCI confident of rearranging alternate venue
In the meantime, the BCCI, upon being contacted regarding the situation, said that it was confident of shifting the match to an alternate venue, in case Barabati does not become ready to host the match. The venues for the opening two ODIs are MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai (December 15) and Dr. YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam (December 18).
