Guwahati: Set to host a One-day International (ODI) match after a five-year hiatus, the Barsapara Stadium located in the capital city of Assam will have a lot riding on its reputation when the Indian and Sri Lankan teams face off in the first of the three-game rubber here on Tuesday.
Yeah, you heard that right, reputation is at stake even as the Assam Cricket Association (ACA) has one eye on hosting one of the matches of the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup slated in October-November this year.
On previous occasions, the stadium has been marred by unwanted controversies. In 2020, the first T20I between India and Sri Lanka was washed out after water seeped onto the pitch despite a three-layer cover. And to make matters worse, the ACA officials resorted to a hair dryer, steam iron and battery-operated fans among other items in a futile effort to dry up the surface.
In October 2022, the stadium once again was in the news for the wrong reasons after a snake slithered onto the playing area before being guarded out by the groundsmen, resulting in play being halted for about five minutes. A second interruption followed in the second innings of the game against the Proteas when one of four floodlight towers went off, stopping play for 18 minutes.
Once bitten twice shy, the ACA doesn’t want to take any chances as they gear up to host another international game in a span of three months, and ahead of Tuesday’s match, the organisers have engaged pest controllers to spray the stadium complex with snake repellents.
“Apart from fogging to keep mosquitoes away, we are spraying the stadium and the complex beyond with anti-snake chemicals,” ACA president Taranga Gogoi said.
BCCI joint secretary Devajit Saikia also made his intentions clear as he hopes the ACA to get the hosting rights of a World Cup game later this year. “This match is very crucial for the city considering the fact that the ICC World Cup is fast approaching. It will for sure be closely monitored, and if things go well, the ACA might stand a chance to host a World Cup match.”
However the dwindling interest in 50 overs cricket in the age of T20Is is pretty evident from the fact that the match is yet to be sold out, and one might expect a few empty rows when Rohit Sharma walks out for the toss.
For the city dwellers, the administration has announced a half-holiday with government offices and academic institutions to be closed by 1 pm for the day-night affair. And to avoid traffic snarls in the vicinity, the traffic administration has advised spectators to avoid private vehicles, besides allotting a few designated parking spots in the vicinity of the ground.
As far as the match is concerned, the hosts were dealt a deadly blow after pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the series on the eve of the match. A statement from the BCCI confirmed the development.
“Bumrah, who was set to join the team in Guwahati ahead of the ODI series, will need some more time to build bowling resilience. This decision has been taken as a precautionary measure. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has not named any replacement for Jasprit Bumrah,” it read.
As both sides look to gain the upper hand in the first game, it will be India’s big guns — Rohit and Virat Kohli, who will look to get back in the best of touch and form the core before the quadrennial showpiece event later this year.
The most talked about the omission from the squad is veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan after a below-par outing in 2022 even as the selectors sprang a surprise by including an off-colour KL Rahul as the batter-keeper in the team. The decision to give Rahul a longer rope in the new avatar could have been influenced by the current head coach and legendary batter Rahul Dravid, who had also donned the big gloves to retain his place in the 2003 World Cup squad.
In the absence of Dhawan, Mohali boy Shubman Gill will partner Rohit at the top. While stumper Ishan Kishan has been impressive in whatever limited opportunities he has got, skipper Sharma wants to give Gill a longer run given his performance over the last 8-9 months.
“Both have done really well. But it is fair that we give Gill a chance to have a fair run. In recent games, Gill has got a lot of runs. So has Ishan. He got a double hundred. I know what it takes to get a double ton. It is a great achievement. But just to be honest and fair to the guys who have done really well before that,” he said.
“It is unfortunate that we won’t be able to play Ishan, but it is fair to give Gill that run looking at how things have panned out in the last 8-9 months. He has done extremely well in that position. Ishan is very unfortunate, but it doesn’t rule out anything. We are going to try and keep everyone in the mix as we play a lot of games ahead,” he added.
Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer and vice captain Hardik Pandya will be expected to man the middle order.
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With four spinners in the squad, it will be interesting if the team management opts for the famed pair of wrist spinners in ‘Kulcha’ – Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, or look for some depth in the batting with the inclusion of left-armer Axar Patel and off-spinner Washington Sundar. The pace department is also expected to spoil the skipper for options with Bumrah expected to lead the pack in the company of seasoned Mohammed Shami while the fourth seamer’s slot could be a toss-up among Md Siraj, Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka indicated that the series will help the youngsters in his team get to prepare well for the World Cup.
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