Former Indian captain and Cricket Association of Bengal(CAB) president Sourav Ganguly has expressed his joy on the shift in the India-Pakistan clash to Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The flamboyant opener sees this as an opportunity rather than a challenge. A couple of days back in New Delhi, ICC CEO Dave Richardson addressed the shift of the match citing security reasons in Dharamsala.
In an exclusive to CNN-IBN the CAB president said, "I am happy that the game is happening in Kolkata. It could have happened anywhere in India but we are fortunate enough to host it and there have been India-Pakistan game in past and we will try to do best we can. We are already preparing for the WC matches including the finals. The India-Pakistan tie is hence more of an opportunity to me than a challenge."
When asked whether time is too short to hold such a volatile encounter, Ganguly said, “We are preparing for the entire tournament - so preparations were already on. It is just that we have to host another game. I don't think it is a big problem - it could have been difficult if we have to suddenly host it but we were already organised for the finals and other Word Cup matches, so I don't think it is a problem.”
Security would not be a problem
The face-changer of Indian cricket assured that security would not be an issue and was optimistic about organizing a flawless match."I think talk about security is normal whenever India plays Pakistan. Even when we go there same things happen and when they come here the issues are there. So we have to deal with it. Kolkata CM has already guaranteed them the foolproof security and that will help the match to go smoothly”, added the 43-year-old.
"We will make sure Pakistan team is well looked after and they get the best facilities to play. It a great stadium and is looking very good and hopefully it would be a very good cricket match", said the man at the helm of CAB after the demise of Jagmohan Dalmiya last year.
“I see this as an opportunity for me to organise things well and I will do it to my best of ability. The basic things remain the same - the ground is there, the facilities are there so that makes life easy. I can't be compared to him (Dalmiya) and neither I look at it that way. I just want to do my best”, concluded Ganguly.
The Pakistan team flew out of Abu Dhabi and arrived in Kolkata on Saturday evening. Due to the perpetual twist of events regarding their arrival, the Pakistan team lost out on the practice match against Bengal Cricket Team.
They are scheduled to play Sri Lanka in a warm-up game at the Eden Gardens on Monday.
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