BCCI asks ICC to reconsider decision on Eden

NEW DELHI: The Indian cricket board Friday asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) to reconsider its decision of taking away the India-England World Cup match from the Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata.

"We have written a letter to the ICC to reconsider its decision. Now it is up to the ICC to decide, but we are confident that the stadium can host the crucial India-England match," Ratnakar Shetty, tournament director and chief administrative officer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), told IANS.

This comes after Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Jagmohan Dalmiya, also a former ICC president, Thursday appealed to the BCCI to advise the international body to reconsider its decision.

Referring to the 14-day extension given by the ICC to four other venues, including Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium to complete the finishing work, Dalmiya, a former BCCI president and secretary, asked for an extension of 10 days from Thursday up to Feb 7 to hand over a complete Eden Gardens to the game's apex body.

Dalmiya's appeal came hours after the ICC ruled out Eden Gardens as a venue for the match, saying it was unprepared.

The ICC took the decision following an adverse report from its venue inspection team that visited Kolkata and four other venues earlier this week to review their readiness for the big event being hosted jointly by India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka from Feb 19 to April 2.

Dalmiya argued that the ICC decision to take away the Feb 27 match came exactly 30 days before it was scheduled to be held.

Apart from the India-England encounter, Eden Gardens is supposed to host three other games -- South Africa vs. Ireland (March 15), the Netherlands vs. Ireland (March 18), and Zimbabwe vs. Kenya (March 20).

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