ICC confirm Bangalore will replace Eden Gardens

Chinnaswamy Stadium will now stage the cricket World Cup match between India and England on February 27 because of delays in construction work on Eden Gardens.

KOLKATA // The International Cricket Council (ICC) have confirmed Bangalore's Chinnaswamy Stadium as a replacement venue for the World Cup match between India and England on February 27, originally to be played at Kolkata's Eden Gardens.
The ICC has also written to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), outlining a schedule of works that need to be carried out at Eden Gardens if it has to host other matches alloted to it. The venue will be inspected on February 7.

"This decision now clarifies and gives us certainty over the fixture," Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, said in a statement. "We can now work with our various partners and stakeholders to make sure that match along with the rest of the tournament is all it should be."

The BCCI had nominated Bangalore as a replacement after Eden Gardens was ruled out last week because of delays in construction work.

Eden Gardens is also scheduled to host three other matches - South Africa v Ireland on March 15, Netherlands v Ireland on March 18 and Zimbabwe v Kenya on March 20.
Sharad Pawar, the ICC president, was hoping that these matches would be held in Kolkata.

"The first match may not take place there but the rest of the three matches could have a chance if the requirements are fulfilled," Pawar said in New Delhi on Sunday.

"We have written to BCCI regarding this. I spoke to BCCI president Shashank Manohar to get the stadium ready so that other matches are staged there," he said.