HYDERABAD: The Pakistan-Netherlands match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Uppal in Hyderabad scheduled on Friday will be the first ODI World Cup game at the venue and the first match in the city since 1996, when it hosted a game between Zimbabwe and West Indies.
With less than 24 hours left for the match, the host organisers do not seem to be ready for the event. Chaos that followed the arrival of the Pakistan cricket team despite a rousing welcome both at the airport and the hotel, seems to be continuing even on Thursday.
It happened when the 1992 champions decided to have a training session putting aside all travel fatigue on September 28 ahead of their warm-up match against New Zealand. The media were ousted from the venue as the authorities said the net session was to be held behind closed doors. The script remained the same even on the eve of Pakistan's World Cup opener against the Netherlands on Thursday. "Media are not allowed to cover the net session," was the curt reply from a cop deputed at the nets outside the venue.
Even the officials from the International Cricket Council (ICC) were helpless. "Security is the reason but that will be sorted out once the Netherlands players train in the evening," an ICC official told this daily.
The venue still seems to be getting ready. Pictures of dirty seats in the stands went viral from the stadium during the second warm-up match between Pakistan and Australia. In a last-ditch effort, the process of washing out accumulated dirt from the seats was going on till late evening.
In the absence of an elected Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), the day-to-day affairs are being taken care of by an administrator. None from the current dispensation was available for comments, including the chief executive officer (CEO).
