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What's the story?
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi witnessed Bollywood superstar Salman Khan host a mega-event on Sunday as part of his DA-BANGG Tour, which saw a huge turnout at the venue. However, in the process, the pitch at the stadium has suffered some serious damage, especially on the sidelines.
Images emerged on social media after the event showing the extent of the damage caused, which is a grave cause for concern.
There have been serious questions about the Dynamos' home games being affected as a result, but an official in the team's camp confirmed to Sportskeeda that the games will go on as scheduled.
"There has been damage to the pitch but it is mostly on the sidelines of the playing area. We are in the process of cleaning it up and we should be good to go before our next match against FC Goa on December 16," he was quoted as saying.
In case you didn't know
The stadium hosted India's group stage games at the recently-concluded FIFA U-17 World Cup and is the home venue for the Delhi Dynamos in the ongoing ISL 2017 season.
The heart of the matter
As visible in the images, parts of the turf near the endline and corner flag of the pitch have suffered damage in the aftermath of the event.
The stadium underwent a massive redevelopment ahead of the U-17 World Cup as well and a huge amount of money was spent on sprucing up the venue, which makes the decision to handover the stadium by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) even more ridiculous and worrying.
What's next?
The JLN Stadium will host a game later this week on Saturday as the Delhi Dynamos take on FC Goa.
Author's take
It is indeed a worrying sign, given the fact that the stadium was allowed to be used in the middle of the season and that the authorities did not take adequate care.
