India v Pakistan World T20 match shifted to Eden Gardens

After much tension and disputing between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the BCCI and the ICC, Dave Richardson, the ICC CEO released a statement stating that the Indo-Pak fixture would be shifted from Dharamsala to the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The match will be played on the 19^th of March in the Group B encounter of the World T20 2016.

This episode between the boards of the arch-rivals has been nothing short of controversial. The controversy sparked off initially when Himachal Pradesh chief minister Vidharba Singh said that it wouldn’t be possible to provide security for the visiting Pakistan side. He also mentioned that the move to have the matches at Dharamsala would hurt the sentiments of the families of the martyrs, still residing within the district.

After much convincing, the HPCA agreed to host the fixture between India and Pakistan at the picturesque Dharamsala stadium. A three-man delegation in order to inspect the security was also sent to the HPCA at Dharamsala in order to oversee the security arrangements. However, a detailed report from the delegation with a firm negative feedback meant that the security detail of the travelling Pakistan players wasn’t up to the mark.

Thus, after obtaining permission from the government to play the World T20 in India, it seems as though the Board of Control for Cricket in India has finally acquiesced to the demands of the PCB in moving the fixture to the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Ironically, India has never beaten Pakistan in an ODI at the Eden Gardens while Pakistan has failed to overwhelm the Indians in any ICC World Cup event. At the moment, the cricketing fraternity is pleased with the change in the venue as the match, that hung in the balance, will now definitely take place at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.