Hyderabad’s Uppal Stadium decked up for ODI World Cup games

Preparations are on in full swing at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, which will host three ICC Men’s World Cup games, beginning October 6, along with two warm-up games

Hyderabad: Preparations are on in full swing at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Uppal, which will host three ICC Men’s World Cup games, beginning October 6, along with two warm-up games.

The World Cup trophy, which is on India tour, was put on display at the venue which sports a new look. Though the work on the seating and other places is still on, the stadium will be ready before it hosts the first warm-up game between Pakistan and New Zealand on September 29, revealed K Durga Prasad, who is assisting the single-member Supreme Court appointed judge L Nageswara Rao.

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“We are making every effort to make it spectator-friendly. Floodlights are set up and seating is being done on the ground level. Due to paucity of time, we were advised not to change the entire seating. So, we have replaced almost all the seating at the stands at the ground level. Over 10,000 seats were replaced while the remaining will be done after the World Cup games,” said Durga Prasad.

The canopy on the south, which was blown away a few years ago due to heavy rains, has been re-laid while a new canopy on the Eastern Stand has been completed. However, the canopy on the Western Stand will be laid after the World Cup games. “We stopped the work on Western Stand as there is not enough time to complete it before the World Cup. It will be done soon after the World Cup games in Hyderabad and will be ready before December,” he added.

“We will provide drinking water for all the spectators for free and public bathrooms were updated and the works on drainage have been completed. We have new turnstiles at the entry,” he said.

Asked about the bar on spectators for the warm-up tie between Pakistan and New Zealand on September 29, he said that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will take a call on it soon.

Hyderabad will be hosting back-to-back games on October 9 and 10, and Durga Prasad said they don’t foresee any problem. “I think we are ready to host back-to-back games without any hassle. Our ground staff, led by YL Chandrasekhar have done a great job in getting the facilities here. We have nets not just at Uppal but also at Gymkhana. The newly-laid ground at Gymkhana is ready for practice matches,” he said.