Kotla T20I to be played without power back-up

The first T20I between India and New Zealand will be played in Delhi at Ferozshah Kotla Stadium on November 1. The game will also see Ashish Nehra, the local hero, for one last time on the ground. Though there is still a lot of uncertainty regarding the match and the Indian board is on the tenterhooks due to the match. There is a stark possibility that the match might be played without the power back-up available at the Stadium.

The ban on the use of diesel generators in the capital city of India has led to this situation. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had written a letter to Bhure Lal, the chairman of the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority, to provide NOC to use the diesel generators during the match. But he declined the request in reply and ensured the BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and DDCA administrator Justice Sen that an uninterrupted power would be supplied.

BCCI can do nothing right now

In his reply to the board, Bhure Lal wrote, “We have considered the request and unfortunately, it will not be possible to agree to such a request as the ban on the diesel generator sets is critical in view of very poor and severe air pollution conditions that are prevalent in Delhi. We have also, in our recent meetings, discussed this matter with the DISCOMS and the Delhi power secretary who have assured us that there is no power shortage in the city and that DISCOMS will grant temporary connection to anyone who requires power within 24 hours of receipt of the request.”

“Furthermore, we have in our last minutes made it clear that we allow generators sets to be there as back up but we would not like them to be used because we expect that the power is available and therefore there is no need to use DG generator sets,” he wrote further. Although it is being claimed that DISCOMS have enough power to provide during the match, it would be a huge risk to stage an international game without power back-up. Also there is no time now shift the game from Delhi.

“The board is keeping its finger crossed and hopefully there isn’t any interruption. There is also no power back-up for the floodlights and there is nothing that BCCI can do right now,” a source revealed as quoted by Times of India.