ICC recce: DDCA set to add two new pitches, 4 radio commentary boxes as part of World Cup upgrade

The Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) will add two more practice pitches to the main square of the Feroz Shah Kotla besides replacing 15,000 old bucket seats for the ODI World Cup, joint secretary Rajan Manchanda said on Tuesday.

A two-member recce team comprising former BCCI general manager and current Delhi Capitals CEO Dhiraj Malhotra inspected the the facilities at the Arun Jaitley Stadium where five World Cup games will be played.

"They would be giving us a final report in a week's time and intimate us about everything they want to be done before the start of the World Cup. From our end, we are adding two more strips to the existing ones on the main turf for convenience of training," Manchanda told PTI on the day.

It was learnt that ICC team was happy with whatever it saw but also gave its own inputs on the facilities.

"Practice pitches is something that DDCA is adding on its own but has agreed to every other stuff it has been told to upgrade. There is special emphasis on having brand new toilets (male and female) and they have to add four radio commentary boxes along with TV commentary boxes," another DDCA source who spoke to ICC officials informed.

Ahead of the mega event, each and every venue needs to create space for four extra radio commentary boxes as ICC has various audio broadcast partners. As far as the other upgradation is concerned, Manchanda said that things are on course.

"We have informed ICC that we will completely revamp the toilets. The stadium will have a new coat of paint. We have invited bids from top companies and due diligence will be done as far as tender process is concerned.

"The number of seats will remain same but we will have 15,000 new bucket seats," he added.

The ICC recce team was very impressed with the preparedness of the venue in Chennai. It will travel to Dharamsala on Wednesday.

The games will be played across 10 venues from October 5 to November 19. PTI KHS BS BS