The Test series has been rescheduled because, according to Jay Shah, the secretary of the BCCI, “due to harsh winter conditions in the region, the outfield lacks acceptable grass density.”
The BCCI announced on February 13 that the third Test match between India and Australia would be moved from Dharamsala to Indore due to poor outfield conditions. The match was originally scheduled to take place between March 1 and 5.
After the BCCI curator, Taposh Chatterjee’s analysis determined that the newly re-laid outfield was not suitable for an international match, it was confirmed on Sunday itself that the match will be moved to a different venue.
“The third Test of the Mastercard Australia tour of India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which was originally scheduled to take place at the HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala from 1st to 5th March has now been moved to Holkar Stadium, Indore,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a statement. “This match was originally scheduled to take place at the HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala from 1st to 5th March.”
Mr. Shah went on to say that “because of the tough winter weather in the region, the outfield lacks proper grass density and would need some time to develop fully.”
Because of the inclement weather, the local ground workers at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) did not have enough time to develop a good layer of grass on the parts of the bald outfield. This contributed to the problems that the HPCA was already having.
“appalled” fans count their losses when the Dharamshala Test between India and Australia is moved to Indore.
Some of the fans were left counting the losses they have to suffer for no fault of their own after the decision to move the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy from Dharamshala to Indore was made. The decision was made by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which is the governing body for cricket in India. The match in question was between India and Australia.
There is a rationale for the irate reaction of the fans. The BCCI made the announcement of these locations on December 8, and as soon as Dharamshala was added to the schedule, many of the participants made reservations for their flights and hotels well in advance. This is because Dharamshala is a popular tourist destination. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made the announcement on Monday that the test match would be moved from Dharamshala to another location and gave the following reason for the decision: “Due to harsh winter conditions in the region, the outfield lacks sufficient grass density and will need some time to develop fully.”
This is somewhat accurate; however, the statement issued by the BCCI did not mention that the venue has been undergoing outfield renovations. Despite the fact that construction began long after the monsoon ended, it has not progressed at the rate that was anticipated. According to individuals who are knowledgeable on the subject, even when the BCCI announced the sites, the outfield work was not yet finished, and there was still some section of the ground that was dug up. In spite of the fact that peak winter days were still to come, the BCCI ought to have understood by then that it won’t be possible for HPCA to do the remaining work because, without sunshine, it becomes much tougher for the outfield to be ready.
It is not quite clear whether the officials from the BCCI looked over the location before providing their approval. The BCCI has a pitch and venue committee whose job is to determine whether or not a venue is suitable for hosting matches. The formation of these committees typically occurs during the Annual General Body Meeting; but, this time around, the BCCI did not make the composition of the subcommittee public, assuming that it had really formed the subcommittees.
