The Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) has informed the State government as well as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that it is all ready to host the T20 between India and West Indies to be played at Barabati Stadium.
However, the decision to allow spectators or hold the match without them completely rests on the government decision keeping an eye on the presnt COVID situation.
The Indian cricket team will kick off its T20 campaign against West Indies in the three-match T20 series scheduled to be held on February 15, 2022 at the historic Barabati cricket ground in Cuttack.
Speaking to the reporters, The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of OCA, Subrat Behera said, “With growing COVID cases around the country, I assume that the government will ask us to hold the match without spectators. However, we are ready to execute whatever the government asks us to do.”
As far as the ground is concerned, Behera said, “The pitch and outfield are ready. The works on the newly installed floodlights are over as well. The broadcasting team of the BCCI has visited the ground and discussed all the modalities with us.”
Meanwhile, according to a report by Cricket.com, the BCCI is mulling to restrict the limited-overs series against West Indies to one or two venues.
Recently, the board had decided to postpone several domestic tournaments including the Ranji Trophy, Col C K Nayudu Trophy and Senior Women’s T20 League due to the current scenario pertaining to the surge of COVID19 cases across the country.
The Caribbeans are scheduled to travel for the limited-overs series in early February. This tour is expected to span over two weeks. While Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Kolkata are expected to host the one-dayers, Cuttack, Visakhapatnam, and Thiruvananthapuram are slated to host the three T20Is.