Bad light poses threat to India v England Kanpur T20

Even before the limited-overs series between India and England gets underway, some dark clouds have started causing threats. As per reports in the Hindustan Times, the Kanpur T20I is under serious threat of poor light at the venue. The lux levels, which is a parameter to judge the light intensity, is reported to be poor at the Green Park Stadium. The Kanpur T20I is scheduled to be played on January 26. After the initial threats of poor lux levels, the association tried installing additional 45 bulbs at the directorate and VVIP pavilions at the venue.

However, the levels are still found to be low with 2000 lux as against as expected value of 5500 lux. Earlier this year, the Gujarat Lions played two of their home games at Kanpur at the venue. The players had complained of bad light during that time as well. Back in 2015, South Africa played India at Green Park stadium. It was a day game as the lighting was found to be inadequate even that time as well.

The State government of Uttar Pradesh is also left unimpressed with the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA). The cricket association had proposed the installation of new additional lights at the venue to the state government. However, the adamant nature of the UPCA regarding the tendering of the contract for installation to one particular company did not go down well with the state government.

“Such things always involve bidding and proper tendering, but the UPCA wanted us to allocate work to a particular firm, which was against the norms,” said a government official in a conversation with Hindustan Times. The expected cost for the installation is said to be close to INR 16 crores.

At the same time, the nodal officer of UPCA at the Kanpur venue, Mr. Anil Kamthan, believes that the match will get underway without any disturbances. He mentioned that the lux levels will not be a problem during the crucial India-England match.

“It’s too late to have new lights but I don’t think lights would be a problem. With the installation of additional lights, we have managed to raise the ‘lux level’ to 2,000 which is sufficient for the match,” he quoted.