Abu Dhabi: Twenty five days will be enough to prepare sporting wickets for the UAE leg of Indian Premier League, according to Dr M.V. Sridhar, GM Cricket Operations of Indian cricket board.
Dr Sridhar, along with curator P.R. Vishwanathan, was a part of the BCCI’s venue inspection team on a two-day visit to the UAE ahead of the IPL. “There is a lot of wear and tear on the wickets and that is understandable with the amount of cricket played here. However, considering that, I must say they have maintained it really well,” Dr Sridhar told Gulf News prior to his departure on Saturday night.
“The good thing is UAE has some experienced curators and after speaking to them, we have got a feeling that they know their job well and will deliver the goods. We have explained to them what we are expecting, i.e. competitive wickets and they have assured to keep the wickets ready as per our requirements,” said Dr Sridhar. A four-member team from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be assisting the UAE curators in preparing the wickets.
The team visited the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah Cricket Stadium and Dubai International Cricket Stadium including the ICC Academy and one of the major changes that we will be seeing at the venues during the IPL are the LED scoreboards.
“The facilities at the venues are excellent but the scoreboards have to be changed with the LED ones. It will replace the current ones at all the three venues and we will be getting that from India. Most matches will be day-night and for that, LED scoreboards are a must,” the BCCI official said.
“The infrastructure in and around the stadium is top class and there are plenty of hotels. There is ample of space around the stadium to put up a similar show as we do it back home in India,” revealed Dr Sridhar.
The BCCI will completely take over the branding of the event and will make sure that it will be held in exactly the same way as it has been held all through these years. Members from the event management company IMG, who has been handling the entertainment for BCCI, also did a recce of the venues. The next BCCI team visit will be in the first week of April.
