14 yrs on, it’s time for action

Vijay Yadav had kept wickets the last time around, when India beat England here in 1993. And today, it is his job to look after the wicket. He remembered “that difficult pitch with uneven bounce, that patchy outfield” and admitted that when he took charge as guest curator four days back —- this match is hosted by Haryana Cricket Association whose traditional base is Faridabad — he had “kept his fingers crossed.” But, like many others, he was bowled over by what he saw.

The ground in charge here and local coach, Harish, had done a great job. The outfield in lush green and the wicket looks hard and is expected to play fair to batsman even in the second innings, when the bounce is expected to decrease. “On this pitch, 260 to 270 runs should be a good score. There’s still a tinge of green grass on the wicket, but we have an entire day to use the roller, and we have to see how much of that will remain. We might even shave off some grass in the end,” said Yadav.

There’s considerable overnight dew here and the 9 am start will help the seamers. With winter setting in, there’s bound to be moisture on the wicket to start with and it’s expected to be a tricky call for the team winning the toss.

Talking of the pitch here, the first soil for the centre wicket came from the ditch running outside the ground and along the main road —- using the red soil sediments. That was way back in 1965 when Dronacharya DP Azad made the Sector-16 stadium his place of worship. Kapil Dev, Chetan Sharma, Yograj Singh and Ashok Malhotra were all groomed here.

“Me and my family members always bow our heads whenever we pass this stadium. It’s like a temple to us. I came here in 1964 on my first posting, and stayed here till the end of my career,” recalled Azad with tears in his eyes.

A lot had changed since then; the stands have been erected, a giant new electronic screen has been set up, state-of-the-art lawn mowers, mobile nets, and mechanical rollers have been pressed into service. A new dressing room has been added in recent past. The pavilion has been renovated and the turf was relaid in 2005. The only item that remains from the days of Azad and Kapil is the dented light roller that lies at one corner.

Ironically, both Kapil and Azad have been sidelined. Azad admits: “Muddat ho gayi hai ground me gaye,” but doesn’t spell out the reason why. He won’t even watch the match at the ground where he’s seen his wards play all his life. And strangely, the HCA has not even sent him an invite, and a suggestion to name a stand after Kapil Dev has been shot down too. The ICL factor may have played a part in the former India skipper being ignored.