Matches (13)
IPL (2)
PSL (2)
Women's Tri-Series (SL) (1)
County DIV1 (3)
County DIV2 (4)
USA-W vs ZIM-W (1)
The Surfer

Railways is in the stone age

Aakash Chopra slams the Karnail Sigh Stadium - Railways' Ranji Trophy venue in Delhi - on Yahoo

Dustin Silgardo
25-Feb-2013
Aakash Chopra slams the Karnail Sigh Stadium - Railways' Ranji Trophy venue in Delhi - on Yahoo! Cricket. He criticises everything from the pitch to the lack of sufficient groundstaff to the fried snacks served to the players. The problem, he explains, is that Railways and Services do not receive the annual allowance the BCCI gives other teams.
On the morning of the match, the wicket-keeper pulls out his helmet from the first over (even for the fast bowlers) knowing well that a lot of balls would stay dangerously low and he may get hit because of bad bounce. If there's too much dew and fog (which delays the removal of covers), one must resign to the fate of playing with a bar of soap because there are only four grounds-men at the venue and it's unrealistic to expect them to get the ground ready in time. Yes, they have a super-sopper but unfortunately they don't have the manpower to make it count on such mornings. What's new - you'd ask, since most non-descript venues do wear a shabby look. Alas! These are the ground realities of Karnail Sigh Stadium - Railways' Ranji Trophy venue in Delhi, and not some club ground in a small town

Dustin Silgardo is a former sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo