Dalmiya pleads for ten-day deadline extension

Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), has appealed to the ICC, through the Indian board, asking for the deadline for completion of work at Eden Gardens to be extended till February 7. Earlier on Thursday, Kolkata was stripped of the high-profile World Cup match between India and England after the ICC ruled that the venue would not be ready in time for the February 27 game.

"We confirm that we will hand over a completed Eden Gardens to the ICC on February 7," PTI quoted Dalmiya as saying in a letter to BCCI president Shashank Manohar. "We kindly request the ICC through you to elaborate on the specific requirements to ensure that we hand over the ready venue by February 7.

"We feel that we are already in a position to host the match. Despite this, we will take cognizance of ICC's concerns pertaining to cricketing operations, media, broadcast and sponsorship facilities."

The ICC's inspection team gave the green-light to four other World Cup venues they visited - the Wankhede, which will host the final, and the Sri Lankan stadiums. "It is also pertinent to note that three Sri Lanka venues - Colombo, Hambantota and Pallekele as well as Wankhede in Mumbai have been given extension for 14 days," Dalmiya said. "Logically the CAB should also have been given at least till February 7 for handing over the venue prior to the India-England tie. It is an extension of 10 days and not the 14 days given to the others."

Dalmiya also explained the rationale behind asking for an extension. "The ICC consultant feels that we would be able to complete the stadium work by February 22 and if we do so then we would be able to host the remaining three matches scheduled on March 15, 18 and 20," he wrote. "So it will be 20 days before the games when ICC wants to take up the venue. We are at loss to understand why the ICC is taking away the India vs England match 30 days prior to the fixture."

While the BCCI have washed their hands of the fiasco, the CAB deputy joint secretary Biswarup Dey said he couldn't understand the decision to shift the match as the stadium was ready. "We were confident of hosting the match," Dey told PTI. "There is no question of being behind schedule. Everything is built ... the entire stadium has been renovated. We have not received any communication from the ICC. I don't know why they have taken the decision."