Wankhade Stadium, Mumbai

For all of you guys wondering who is this Shetty – Mr. Ratnakar Shetty is the World Cup tournament director. After the India’s CWG misery, it’s damn obvious to question the logistics team of the tournament. And, so Ratnakar Shetty was asked the question – “Are we prepared for the mega event?” A confident answer came dismissing the concerns for preparedness of the venues for the event!

“I think the concerns are more in the media than anything else.  As far as we are concerned, all the 13 venues which are going to stage the World Cup are coming up very well and we don’t see any reason of concern”, Shetty said.

The concern by media came into existence as there were venues that were running behind schedule for redevelopment in India and Sri Lanka. They overshot the Nov 30 and December 31 initial deadlines. But, Shetty reports them to be now on track. The ICC inspected the Wankhade Stadium (which was one of the venues running behind schedule) in Mumbai on Monday. The Wankhade Stadium has all its stands completely rebuilt.

The next venue of visit for check of status was Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday. Unlike, Wandkhade Stadium, the Eden Gardens has two stands renovated. The ICC team consists of the following members: Eugene van Vuuren – the stadium consultant, Campbell Jamieson – the body’s general commercial manager and Chris Tetley – the events manager.

India will play its first match against Bangladesh at Mirpur on Feb 19. And, with the organizers looking confident with the venues preparedness we all hope to leave a noble image to the visiting nations!

Tags: Campbell Jamieson, Chris Tetley, Eden Gardens, Eugene van Vuuren, ICC, Kolkata, Mega Event, Ratnakar Shetty, Tournament Director, Wankhede Stadium, World Cup