After three missed deadlines and a showpiece match lost,the Eden Gardens has finally got the ICC nod to retain the the rights to host its remaining three World Cup matches. Although official word for the same is yet to be received,Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) joint-secretary Biswarup Dey confirmed that the International Cricket Council (ICC) has already written to the BCCI in this regard. The ICC has informed that the Eden Gardens is ready to host the matches to be played on March 15,18 and 20, Dey told The Indian Express on Tuesday. The decision comes after a three-member ICC team made a final inspection of the venue on Monday and expressed satisfaction at the pace of renovation work. The ICC had earlier shifted the India-England fixture to Bangalore after an initial inspection on January 27 saw the stadium infrastructure incomplete. And while the CAB is now trying to relocate the India-Ireland game on March 6 from Bangalore to Kolkata to ensure at least one India match in the city,there appears little hope for the same,with ICC chief executive officer Haroon Lorgat ruling out any such switch. We are pleased with the progress made since January 25 and if that pace of work is maintained,we believe that the stadium will be ready for the games scheduled in March, Lorgat said,but ruled out any swap with Bangalore. That will be extremely difficult. A shifting requires all sorts of logistical changes which may not be possible in such a short duration, he said. However,Dey remained optimistic. As per the BCCI guideline,every centre is entitled to one India-related fixture or host a match from quarterfinals,semifinals or final. How can Bangalore get to host two India matches and we get none? We will appeal to the ICC, he said.
