Thaindian News

New Delhi, Dec 29 (IANS) Good old Radhey Shyam is back at the Ferozeshah Kotla as its curator. His appointment though needs to be ratified by the executive committee of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA).
He says his immediate target is to get the much-maligned pitch ready in two months for the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Radhey Shyam, whose contract was not renewed after his differences with chief curator of Indian Cricket Board’s now disbanded Pitches and Grounds Committee Daljit Singh, has been critical of the pitch preparation that led to the abandonment of the India-Sri Lanka fifth one-dayer Sunday.

“Lot of work has to be done on this track. I am not going to tinker with it now. Some of the league matches will be played on this pitch and then I will start my repairs,” Radhey Shyam told IANS after DDCA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM).

“I will start working on this track in February and in one month’s time it would be ready for the IPL. Relaying the track at the start of the season was the biggest mistake. It wasn’t watered properly and that made it uneven and unplayable on Sunday,” he said.

The venue faces strict sanctions, ranging from warning to a fine to a ban of 12-24 months from the International Cricket Council (ICC).

DDCA spokesman Ravi Jain said the AGM unanimously decided to appoint Radhey Shyam as chief curator.

Meanwhile, an under-18 match between DDCA and London’s Hampton Cricket Academy was played on the Kotla square but on a pitch adjacent to the one that misbehaved Sunday.

Hampton Cricket coach Duncan Peel was happy with the track and said: “I had some apprehensions about it, but it’s a perfect batting track and our batsmen had no trouble.”