Guwahati to host India-Sri Lanka ODI on Jan 10, ACA says fully ready

The Assam Cricket Association (ACA) is fully prepared to host the upcoming One Day International (ODI) match between India and Sri Lanka on January 10 in Guwahati.

Speaking exclusively to Northeast Live Digital Head Oineetom Ojah, Taranga Gogoi president of ACA said that the ground is getting prepared. It is going to be one of the best grounds and the ACA is expecting it a packed stadium for the ODI. Gogoi also said that this match would help ACA prep up for the World Cup match that the Association hopes to host in Guwahati.

“We are 100% prepared to host the upcoming ODI series between India and Sri Lanka,” Gogoi said sharing details of the arrangements made to ensure that there are no power cuts, no issue with the lights and no pests, insects and snakes on the ground like it had happened during the India-Sri Lanka match when a snake had sneaked into the ground while the match was on.

“There were a few hiccups in the last match (IND Vs SA) like the lights went off, there was a snake incident also. This is a 10-yr old stadium with Sodium Vapour Lamps of those times. Now we have ordered LED lights. We got this match too early, we could not change the LED lights. There will be individual generators for each pole. We have hired an NGO who is sanitising the spraying the entire ground to ensure that there are no snakes or any other pests and insects entering the ground during the match,” ACA president Gogoi said.

Gogoi said that the ACA is working towards getting the clearance from BCCI to host couple of the World Cup matches at Barsapara. “We are trying hard to get a World Cup match which is scheduled in the next few months. I think it will be held in October and November in India. As World Cup is in India, the ACA stadium at Barsapara in Guwahati will like to host a few, at least one or two World Cup matches. Our hosting the ODI will help us prepare for the World Cup match and get our standards up to the BCCI level so that we can pitch for the World Cup match”.

It may be mentioned that the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup will be the 13th edition of the Cricket World Cup. It is scheduled to be hosted by India during October and November 2023. Notably, this will be the first time the World Cup matches will be held entirely in India. Three previous editions were partially hosted in India in 1987, 1996, and 2011.

Gogoi thanked the BCCI for giving Guwahati to host the ODI and he also thanked Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for his guidance and support.