All is not lost for Nahar Singh Stadium

Reaching Nahar Singh Stadium for a match can be a task 8212; a true test of patience. And often enough visiting teams have put off a trip from Delhi to Faridabad until match day, preferring the five-star comforts and practice facilities of the Capital.

Reaching Nahar Singh Stadium for a match can be a task 8212; a true test of patience. And often enough visiting teams have put off a trip from Delhi to Faridabad until match day, preferring the five-star comforts and practice facilities of the Capital.

Still, a trip to the stadium has always been worthwhile 8212; if cricketing nostalgia is taken into account. Whether it was the cavalier innings by Douglas Marillier with sweep shots above the keeper8217;s head to deny India a victory, or most recently, a hard-fought steady knock from Suresh Raina to snatch victory away from England or a spell from Aussie Brad Williams that knocked the stuffing out of the Black Caps 8212; this stadium has had its own legacy. At the domestic level too, it has seen the best of Indian cricketers.

Kapil Dev8217;s last international outing was at that ground and the pavilion now stands in his recognition. Haryana8217;s Irani Trophy victory came at this venue, and that famous world-conquering Lombard Under-15 team was prepared at this same venue.

The stadium surely deserved better treatment from the Haryana Cricket Association, despite the administrative wrangles and the pass-hungry gentry of this industrial town. The out-of-the-blue decision to take an international match out of Nahar Singh Stadium to Chandigarh8217;s Sector-16 Stadium has been defended with statements that the ground and pitch conditions are currently not suitable for top-level cricket.

Vijay Yadav, former Indian stumper and also chief curator at Nahar Singh Stadium, said: 8220;We should look into our own faults first. At present I think the ground is in a bad shape. What generally happens is that before every match, we take over from the local administration and work very hard on ground conditions. But every time it is not possible. To stage a match, you need the ground to be under complete control of the cricket association,8221; he said.

And despite rumours suggestive of an uncertain future, one man stands firm in belief that international cricket will return to the stadium. For Sarkar Talwar, this stadium means a lot, ever since the days he coached the Lombard under-15 squad and the Haryana team that won the Ranji Trophy. 8220;It is a setback,8221; he admitted. But he went on to add: 8220;Nahar Singh Stadium is like an institution and institutions never die. It will remain a historic ground and I certainly don8217;t agree that this is the end of international action here. Maybe I am saying this because I am sentimental about this stadium, but I am proud of that fact.8221;

HCA media officer Gaurav Virmani also denied that Nahar Singh Stadium has been put off the international radar forever. 8220;This time HCA has decided to conduct the match in Chandigarh but that doesn8217;t mean the association will not ever stage the match in Faridabad again.8221;

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Sector-16 Stadium in Chandigarh lost out to PCA Stadium when Punjab Cricket Association moved their base to Mohali. Now, by a sudden turn of events, it has got a match after 14 years. Hopefully, Nahar Singh Stadium will not have to wait that long.