Kolkata , December 21: The iconic Eden Gardens is all set to get a facelift for the ICC World Twenty 20 next year . The ground will have a brand new LED scoreboard replacing the old one by February next year . Apart from the LED scoreboard , the ground will also have new modern pitch covers .
Cricket Association of Bengal officials have often faced the embarrassment in recent times concerning the poor drainage system at the venue . Even an hour’s rain was enough to wash out the prospect of a match , as was the case for the third T20 match between India and South Africa when the umpires had to call off the match without a single ball being bowled . CAB officials are not taking any chances as they have ordered for 5 modern pitch covers before the event . The entire ground will be covered in not more than 5 minutes with these modern roller pitch covers . Already CAB is in talks with Bandhan Bank and BMS to sponsor the pitch covers .
CAB will soon float tender for the sponsorship of Eden Gardens with the president Sourav Ganguly showing his interest to attach the sponsor’s name . Telecom giants Reliance is believed to be associated with the stadium .
However in a recent meeting with the affiliated units , CAB decided that the sponsor’s name will not be used as a prefix to the name of the stadium. However the sponsor’s name can be used as a suffix because the venue carries a unique heritage for more than 150 years as “one of the greatest cricketing venues in the world. It was also decided unanimously at the meeting to bring in sponsors .
Meanwhile ,the upper portion of the scoreboard will be reconstructed in such a manner that it will resemble and enhance the aesthetic quality of the dome of the Calcutta High Court which is clearly visible from behind the scoreboard.
The venue had suffered humiliation before when it failed to meet the ICC deadline for renovation during
the 2011 World Cup. But this time the entire remodeling and renovation of the venue will be completed
by February next year which will be well before the start of the ICC World Twenty20 on March 8.