Groundsmen cover the pitch as it rains during the Asia Cup match between India and Pakistan, at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
Credit: PTI Photo
Owing to horrid weather conditions in Colombo, the Asian Cricket Council is seriously deliberating moving the Super Four games to Dambulla or Hambantota, or playing out the remainder of the tournament in Pallekele.
The Super Four games of the Sri Lankan leg begin on October 9.
Given the paucity of time, Dambulla might not be able to host the games because it is, reportedly, undergoing a minor facelift. More importantly, Dambulla isn’t rain-free either.
The same predicament presents itself should Pallekele be considered. Already, the venue saw one rain-marred game between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, followed by the washout of the all-important India-Pakistan clash on Saturday.
To make matters worse, the forecast says there’s a seventy per cent chance of rain when India take on Nepal on Monday.
At this point, all signs point towards Hambantota, which is relatively dry but not without a chance of rain.
Interestingly, even members of the Indian team were clueless about the changes. “Really? We didn’t know anything. We were just preparing for tomorrow’s game,” said a bemused member of the coaching staff. “Maybe they’ll inform us later. Anyway, there are six days before the next game.”
Rain was always going to be a concern in Sri Lanka this time of year, but the ACC, headed by Jay Shah, insisted on hosting the tournament in the Emerald Isles despite being given the option of playing in the United Arab Emirates.
It's worth noting that Sri Lanka became a co-host for the Asia Cup after India declined to travel to Pakistan for the event. As a compromise, a hybrid model - suggested by former Pakistan Cricket Board chief Najam Sethi - was adopted, with four matches of the tournament being played in Pakistan and the remaining matches in Sri Lanka.
Only last month, the International Cricket Council and the Board of Control for Cricket in India came under fire for revising the World Cup schedule heavily, wherein nine games were moved about for a variety of reasons. And that the schedule was tweaked with less than two months to go for the mega event didn’t sit well with fans, especially those travelling to India for the event.
The BCCI, who have a big say in how the ACC and the ICC operate, are going to have an Annual General Meeting on October 18, thirteen days after the start of the World Cup. The topic of scheduling is bound to come up for it is an embarrassing situation for cricket, and it very well will detract fans from planning their holidays around cricketing events.