Kanpur pitch battle takes turn

Out west, Ahmedabad is awaiting the green signal to host the India-New Zealand Test. Here in Kanpur, though, there’s an unstated battle...

Out west, Ahmedabad is awaiting the green signal to host the India-New Zealand Test. Here in Kanpur, though, there’s an unstated battle on between two schools of thought as to whether Green Park should indeed host the match as is its right.

The latest twist in the story is that Anand Shukla, the Central Zone representative of the BCCI’s pitches committee, has given the Green Park track a ‘more than satisfactory’ report. In a letter to Jagmohan Dalmiya, dated July 23, Shukla emphasised that the pitch and outfield preparation were on right track to host the Test.

Shukla’s claims fly in the face of the sentiments of UP Cricket Association secretary Jyoti Bajpai, who fears that a Test match on the virgin track would be a risk not worth taking. ‘‘If there is a repeat of the Nagpur incident, where the pitch just fell apart, Kanpur can be blacklisted for a long time.’’

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These contradictory views, of people in charge of organising the Test, makes the pitches committee meeting on August 5 an interesting prospect. It’s at this meeting that the Test’s venue will be decided; shifting the venue would mean the committee will be contradicting one of its members and playing it at Green Park will been an unwilling host.

The Green Park wicket has been in news for the past year. Sometime last August former pitches committee chief G Kasturirangan looked at the bald patches on the outfield and said ‘‘Instead of Green Park, this should be called Brown Park’’.

The pitch was relaid but even that wasn’t flawless as the level of the square went down. The blame for that is still being passed around. Regional Sports Officer Brijendra Kureel, who is the stadium incharge, blames the UP cricket association since he says, ‘‘it was made under their supervision.’’ But the UPCA officials says that the contractors were from the UP Jal Board.

All this has meant that even after almost a year of relaying the pitch, not a single ball has been bowled on the wicket. But Shukla in his letter has an answer to that: ‘‘The pitches and the ground would be ready for trial match by first week of September. This will leave about three weeks for preparation of pitches for the Test.’’

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That, Bajpai feels, will be cutting it too fine. ‘‘I have regularly received communication from Shukla and every letter says that work is still on. I don’t understand what’s the haste. Ahmedabad or anywhere can host this Test. We should take our time to prepare a perfect wicket. Maybe next time, when South Africa come, we will be ready,’’ he says.

Finally, the man whose opinion should matter the most. Ground in-charge Chote Lal, who has been nurturing the turf here for more than 22 years, has seen it all and is familiar with every grass blade at Green Park.

Ask him the vital question: Will Kanpur host the match? ‘‘I have seen situations before but I am pretty confident that the match will happen here.’’