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Calcutta Chronicle

Cricket takes backseat

Tapan Majumder from Calcutta
About a week from now. Eden Gardens will be coming alive to the strains of Lata Mangeshkar and the magic of Gianfronco Lunetta at the opening ceremony of the Wills World Cup.
The cricket caravan will then spread over the subcontinent till mid-March when two of the top four finishers of the mega-event will assemble here for the first semi-final on March 13.
As the giant stage Is nearing completion and the fever is Just about picking up. there Is a growing feeling among a section of city's cricketing fraternity that all this glitz is far removed from the spirit of the game.
While there is apprehension in some quarters if the turf will be damaged, others feel cricket has been forced to take a backseat in the wake of this glamourous sideshow.
A visit to the site reveals a maze of steel, wood, various mechanical engineering ap-Earatus while numerous tbourers are busy giving a fi-
nal shape to the stage of 34-metre diametre. Though there is no construction on the newly laid square, which has three strips, it will be deprived of sunlight and any form of curing for nearly a month.
The four ends of the square, from where pillars have come up and the heavy props used to hold up the circular stage, will definitely cause, harm to the outfield. While the CAB officials' common refrain is that the onemonth gap between , the opening ceremony and semifinal is "good enough” to set things right. It has failed to satisfy even those with ’ a* sound knowledge of preparation of wickets in the Maidan.
*'As the soil quality is extremely good in this part of .the country, any possible wear and tear on the pitch or the outfield can be set right with the expertise of the groundstaff here. However what hurts is that cricket has become something of secondary importance in the bargain." said a former Bengal captain.
The high profile Indcom technical committee, which had finalised the list of venues last year, also issued a stricture on the mainte-
nance of the 17 venues. True, the city would have a pride of place by playing host to the opening cere-mony. but it was surprising to see legends like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev. S Venkataraghavan or Ravi Shastri never raising a question abdbt the 'feasibility of the whole project. Clearly. ;, there are two sets of rules for some!
More than a cricketing congregation, many see it an effort to sell an attractive package for the benefit of TV viewers. The PILCOM, according to Lunetta. "did not have to .pay a single rupee j/rom” its own pocket” as It had sold the rights of the ceremony to WorldTel for a princely sum. • - ^Meanwhile, the civic construction at the Eden is almost complete as according to the PILCOM convener. Jagmohan Dalmlya, the last set of concrete casting was done for the new stands on January 18.
The seats are getting a fresh coat of paint, and that too with colour of the Indian national flag. However, whether Azharuddin & Co will be here on March 13 evening to soak in the spirit remains to be seen!