The International Cricket Council has expressed its satisfaction over the Bangladeshi venues for the upcoming World Cup, said the Bangladesh Cricket Board on Monday.
An ICC delegation inspected the World Cup venues last week and they have already submitted their report to concerned authorities. They also sent a copy of the report to the Local Organising Committee.
An LOC meeting held at a city hotel on Monday reviewed the report and discussed about their further action. The LOC officials heaved a sigh of relief as the ICC did not raise any serious objection to any of Bangladesh’s five World Cup venues.
The ICC recently admonished India and Sri Lanka for their poor preparation at some key venues including the Eden Gardens in Kolkata and the Mumbai stadium, which will stage the final.
‘ICC inspection team is happy with us and we are in a better position than India and Sri Lanka,’ BCB spokesman Jalal Yunus told reporters after the LOC meeting.
‘They have asked for some minor adjustments and we are confident these will be done in due time. They have some objection regarding the tri-vision sightscreen at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. We need to put it slightly behind from its present place which I think can be done anytime,’ he said.
ICC observed that Bangladesh will have to have plastic cover for the entire ground at the Chittagong divisional stadium, which has a poor drainage system.
The poor drainage system cost Bangladesh a one-day international against Zimbabwe just a day before the ICC inspection, which put the BCB in an embarrassing situation.
‘We cannot improve the drainage system before the World Cup starts, so we decided to buy plastic cover for the entire ground,’ said Jalal.
The Board is also happy with the floodlights at the SBNS as the concerned firm has already rectified the light adjustment problem, which had forced them to cancel a day-night fixture against Zimbabwe.
The ICC team, however, instructed them to have a back-up power generation system and the BCB assured them of it.
Bangladesh will stage eight matches of the World Cup along with the opening ceremony. SBNS will alone host six matches including two quarter-finals. Only Colombo will host more matches than the BCB’s home.
