BCCI yet to receive ICC's approval for Guwahati T20I

Steve Smith led Australian side will lock horns with India in a 5 match ODI series along with 3 T20s, starting September 17. But the BCCI is yet to get a green signal to one of the venues from ICC. The Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati will host the 2nd T20I, but there hasn’t been any confirmation yet. It has bene said that the inspection went well, and a call was expected from the ICC.

Speaking to CricketNext, a senior BCCI official said that the board was expecting a green signal at the earliest and there shouldn’t be any issue as the inspection went well. He went on to add that an official go-ahead was expected from the international body at the earliest.

“It is true that we have not yet got an official go-ahead to host an international game at the Barspara Stadium. But we are positive and are expecting it any time now. The inspection went well and there is no reason to worry,” he said.

In a spot of bother

The Assam Cricket Association is not happy at the delay as the game just a month away, and preparations regarding the ground and other operations will take its own time. “It should have come in by now. But we are still awaiting a confirmation in this regard from the BCCI. Yet, there is no dearth of effort from our side to ensure that everything is in place. We have the ground ready for action and if we don’t finally get to host this T20I, we are definitely ready for future assignments,” he told CricketNext.

It has also been learned that the international body was putting stress on certain aspects which was causing the delay in approving the venue. But the official refused to comment if there was a possibility that the venue would not get a go-ahead to host the game from the ICC.