Pakistan: Majid visits Niaz Stadium, discusses match arrangements (4 Sep 1997)

04 September 1997

Majid visits Niaz Stadium, discusses match arrangements

By Our Correspondent

HYDERABAD, Sept 3: The Chief Executive Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Majid Khan, on Wednesday paid a visit to Niaz Stadium in connection with the matches allocated to the ground.

Besides, he also held a meeting with the Commissioner of Hyderabad Division, Mr Shafiq Khoso, Chairman of the organising committee, constituted to oversee the arrangements of both the international events.

The commissioner assured the Cricket Executive that all arrangements will be completed before the holding of match.

At the ground, Majid Khan was briefed by an engineer of Hyderabad Development Authority, Hafeez Mughal, PCB council member and vice president Hyderabad Division Cricket Association (HDCA), Yar Mohammad Solangi, Joint Secretary HDCA, Dr Saifullah Kaimkhani, and others. The C.E. PCB went around all the rooms of the stadium. He also inspected the room on ground floor which has been selected for the media centre where fax and computers would be installed to facilitate the foreign as well as local journalists in transmitting of their news to their respective papers.

Khan appeared somewhat dissatisfied with the condition of the ground where big patches which are sans grass are visible in the outfield but nonetheless efforts are being made to make the ground a lush green before holding the match.

Khan was highly critical of the Eid Gah end of the ground where major patches without grass could be seen and his dissatisfaction could be gauged from the fact that he asked the HDCA officials and HDA engineer as to who would be responsible if any negative comments were made from the commentary box during the match about the poor condition of the outfield or any bowler complaints pertaining to his run up from this side. "I would hang you Mr Hafeez Mughal over commentary box if the commentators expressed their discontentment over the ground's outfield." The C.E. told Mughal in a jovial mood. Mr Mughal held out an assurance that everything will be made spick and span.

Khan said now it was upto the organisers who were claiming that the ground would be fully prepared prior to the match because they should keep in mind that "India will be playing here and it will be a matter of honour and prestige for Hyderabad as well as Pakistan."

He observed that "the grass work which was being carried out right now should have been completed in June or July". Mr Solangi told the Chief Executive PCB that he has asked Hafeez Mughal that ground should be prepared by 15th of this month as on Sept 20, the HDCA would organise a 2 day practice match on the ground to ascertain the behaviour of the recently prepared strips.

Later, in a brief chat with Dawn Majid Khan said that the organisers have assured him regarding the maintenance of the ground. To a question about the match fixing charges, he said that the same situation was being witnessed in other countries of the world but the PCB has constituted a committee in this regard which would probe the matter if the allegations were levelled about match-fixing against any player. He said that only Waqar Yunus was not available for the international matches while Mushtaq has informed PCB that he would be unable to play an international match on account of injury.

He said that elections of associations, affiliated with the Board would be held after the Board's Council went through the results of the scrutiny of clubs, conducted by PCB recently. He again defended the new domestic cricket format saying that he has increased the payment of the associations and the players would have maximum chances to play matches. He made no comments over the statement of Arif Abbasi, his predecessor who has stated that by accepting outside pressure regarding inclusion of Amir Sohail in the squad Majid has proved that he was indulging in wrong doings.

Source:: Dawn (https://dawn.com/)