BCCI planning to appeal to ICC to reconsider Eden decision

The Indian Cricket Board is contemplating to ask the International Cricket Council to reconsider its decision of taking away the India-England World Cup match from the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

"We are writing a letter to the ICC to reconsider its decision. But it is up to the ICC to decide. We are still hopeful that Eden Gardens can host the match," a top BCCI official said on Friday.

Cricket Association of Bengal president Jagmohan Dalmiya on Thursday appealed to the ICC through the Indian Cricket Board to extend the deadline for completion of work at Eden Gardens till February 7.

This came after the ICC ruled out Eden Gardens as a venue for the match, saying it was unprepared. The world body took the decision following an adverse report from its venue inspection team that visited Kolkata and four other venues earlier this week.

Dalmiya, a former BCCI and ICC president, requested for the extension drawing parallel to the additional 14 days that has been granted to Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and three other Sri Lankan stadiums to complete their work on time.

Tournament Director Prof Ratnakar Shetty had on Thursday said that the organisers will have to tackle the logistical issues that would arise with a change in venue.

"We will work with the new venue, the tour operators and the ticket distributors to manage the logistical challenges that will surely arise," he had said.

Apart from the India-England encounter, Eden Gardens had been alloted three other matches --South Africa vs Ireland (March 15), the Netherlands vs Ireland (March 18), and Zimbabwe vs Kenya (March 20).