Legendary Sunil Gavaskar has urged Cricket South Africa to take a page from Eden Gardens’ playbook after rain forced the abandonment of the first T20I between India and South Africa at Durban without a ball being bowled.
Gavaskar emphasized that the South African board should adopt the Eden method of covering the entire perimeter of the ground during rain to minimize damage.
“What the boards need to do now is to cover the entire ground. Let’s have no excuses. Every cricket board is receiving a substantial amount of money. Let’s make no mistake.
“All the cricket boards have ample financial resources. If they claim otherwise, they are lying,” Gavaskar asserted. “They might not have as much money as the BCCI, and that’s fair enough. But every board has the means to purchase covers for the entire ground,” Gavaskar added. Kolkata’s Eden Gardens currently stands as the only stadium in the country with the capability to cover the entire ground in the event of rain, an initiative undertaken by Sourav Ganguly when he was at the helm of the Cricket Association of Bengal. The former Indian captain then referred to the 2019 World Cup in England, where four matches were washed out.
“So many World Cup matches in England did not take place because the ground was not covered. The rain had stopped, but the rest of the ground was wet. Consequently, several teams lost points. “I remember South Africa wanted to play against a certain team, but the match didn’t take place, mainly because the outfield was wet,” Gavaskar recalled.
Gavaskar then commended Sourav Ganguly’s vision in making Eden Gardens a rain-safe venue.
“I think there was one Test match at Eden Gardens called off. During the next game, Eden Gardens had the entire ground covered. That is the kind of initiative that you want to have.
