Written by Vaibhav Tripathi
Snehasish Ganguly, The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president, said that the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) can take a cue from the Eden Gardens strategy of using full covers during rain delays.
The IPL final between CSK and GT was pushed into the reserve day due to persistent rain. Even on the reserve day, the Narendra Modi Stadium was hit by a couple of rain showers. Subsequently, question marks were raised over the rain management system at the ground as rainwater seeped into practice wickets. Eventually, the second innings was reduced to 15 overs.
“The delay was because the side wickets got wet. It’s a new stadium, and I’m sure it will be rectified in due course. It’s not a big issue. If they cover the full ground, there won’t be this issue anymore,” he told PTI. “It’s a learning process. You are learning everyday. I am pretty sure they will have it before the World Cup. Like Eden Gardens, if GCA has a provision for this (full cover), they will overcome this problem. They have got all the facilities.”
The concept was introduced during IPL 2008 when Snehasish served as the assistant secretary under then-president Prasun Mukherjee. Since former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly took charge of CAB, covers imported from England have been utilized.