“This was supposed to be a cricketing carnival. Instead, cricket is in the background. Right now, it’s security arrangements that’s our headache, all because of these thefts, and the power failure and the suspicion of sabotage attempts,” rued the CAB president.

While Kolkata Police Commissioner GM Chakrabarti has deployed policemen in huge numbers at the stadium — almost turning the ground into a fortress — the CAB has hired a 25-member security team from Group-4 Securicos for round-the-clock vigil. The city police chief, meanwhile, briefed that a few people were being interrogated over the power cord thefts at the Eden Gardens.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has refused to be present at the stadium on Tuesday. “I won’t go for the IPL match at Eden. I wouldn’t have gone for the match even if Shah Rukh Khan would have invited me,” the CM remarked.