Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan is hopeful that they can make the Fatullah stadium in Narayanganj ready as an alternative venue for the
ICC World Twenty20 despite a faulty drainage system.
Nazmul visited the venue, which is going through some minor refurbishment, on Thursday as the BCB is facing an uncertainty over the Sylhet stadium, one of the three venues designated for the men’s event of the showpiece tournament.
Top BCB officials, including grounds and facilities committee chairman Lokman Hossain Bhuyian, accompanied Nazmul, who arrived at the stadium by an ambulance amid a general strike.
Nazmul was shocked seeing the damage caused by the recent rain as the ground has a poor drainage system unlike the other international venues in Bangladesh.
‘The outside of the stadium was in a much better condition when I came here last time,’ Nazmul told reporters. ‘This is inside the DND embankment, so with a little rain it gets waterlogged.
‘We have to talk to the relevant authority for a permanent solution. We will prepare the ground spending millions and it will be damaged by rain, we simply cannot accept it,’ said Nazmul.
The BCB president, however, was satisfied seeing the outfield, which was carefully protected by the BCB groundsmen and said they will offer it to the ICC as an alternative venue to Sylhet for the World Twenty20.
Fatullah hosted one Test and four one-day internationals, the last of which was held in 2006. It was also an alternative venue for the ICC World Cup 2011, jointly organised by India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The BCB faces a race against time to prepare the venue as the ICC delegation is due to visit in the first week of August to see the progress ahead of the World Twenty20, scheduled from March 16 to April 6, 2014.
The ICC recently also expressed its concern about the Cox’s Bazar venue, which will host the women’s leg of the tournament. As an alternative to Cox’s Bazar, the BCB is preparing the BKSP, a venue which BCB president Nazmul was supposed to visit on Thursday.
He, however, had to return from Fatullah because of the countrywide shutdown.
-With New Age input
