IND v SL | Late announcement to ensure crowd didn't turn unruly, admits ACA secretary
Assam Cricket Association (ACA) Secretary Devajit Saikia has revealed that despite the majority of the players leaving the stadium by 9 p.m, the umpires and match officials inspected the pitch at 9:30 p.m that came as a surprise to him. Guwahati saw a full washout of the first T20I of the series.
According to ACA secretary Saikia, the last inspection for Sunday’s T20I game between India and Sri Lanka at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati was conducted at 9:30 p.m which was 30 minutes after the majority of the players left the stadium premises.
Speaking to IANS, Saikia said that he was mighty surprised how the last inspection was done by umpires Chettithody Shamshuddin, Nitin Menon, Anil Chaudhary and match referee David Boon at 9:30 p.m. when most of the players had left the stadium at 9 p.m.
“Well, that is a mystery to me and I will have to find it out because most of the players had left by 9 p.m. That announcement (calling off at 9:54 p.m.) was strategic to ensure that the crowd didn’t turn unruly. That is the usual protocol that is followed. I have given you the hard facts,” he said.
He also informed that the groundsmen were informed by the match officials about a deadline of 8:45 p.m to get the ground ready, otherwise would be abandoned. He also expressed that if they were given a bit more time, the ACA would have been able to make the ground ready.
“For one hour and three minutes there was heavy shower and umpires said we need to get the ground ready by 8:45 p.m. otherwise the match will be abandoned. 57 minutes was given to the groundsmen to get it ready. If we had some more time, we could have readied the ground. There was dampness throughout the pitch due to reverse osmosis system and what was said on commentary, I can’t comment on that,” he explained.
The secretary also rued on the unexpected rain in Guwahati that played a spoilsport on Sunday. India chose to bowl after winning the toss before rain spoiled the Sunday's mood of the crowd.
“This was an unseasonal rain as we don’t get any such rain in Guwahati in January. Yesterday also we had heavy rain in the afternoon, but we got the ground ready in time for the toss and it happened at 6:30 p.m. Then, the match was supposed to start at 7 p.m. At 6:50 p.m. there was heavy downpour and hailstorm. This continued till 7:53 p.m. If we had been given an hour or half an hour, the ground would have been ready,” he rued.
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