"We don't have stadiums, we have two grounds" - Oman Cricket secretary speaks on country's pitches, preparedness for T20 World Cup
The secretary of Oman Cricket has taken stock of his country's preparedness for its first major hosting assignment - the 2021 T20 World Cup. According to Madhu Jesrani, the pitches in Oman will be slow, low and spin-friendly like the sub-continent while the infrastructure is still a bit undercooked.
Speaking to India Today in an interview, Jesani said Oman only has 'grounds' instead of stadiums and lacks other high-end facilities. He added that a team comprised of the host the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) will visit Oman soon to evaluate the situation.
Giving his take on the state of the pitches, Madhu Jesrani said:
"It will be like sub-continent pitches. You can say that it might help the spinners. We don't have stadiums; we have got two grounds... On one ground, we have two dressing rooms. On the other ground, construction is underway. Apart from that, the floodlights are also not of a high standard, and we will have to upgrade the lighting."
Madhu Jesrani added:
"Also, the scoreboards are small and we need to change that as well, and there will be a live TC screen, too. A team consisting of the BCCI and the ICC will visit Oman next week to take stock of the preparations."
India was supposed to host the marquee tournament this year, but the COVID-19 situation in the country forced the BCCI to shift the event to the UAE and Oman. The former also hosted IPL 2020 and is expected to get the rights for most of the games in the T20 World Cup as well.
Hosting an ICC event is beyond our dreams: Oman cricket secretary
Jesrani feels that if Oman is able to host even a few games of the tournament, it will a major win for the game in the football-crazy country. Jesrani said:
"The popularity of cricket has increased. It has now become the second sport behind football in schools and colleges. Hosting the T20 will be a big boost for us as the local team (Oman) will also be playing in it and it will help to create more fan base in cricket."
Jesrani added:
"Hosting an ICC event is beyond our dreams. We are receiving full support from the Oman government and our priority is to deliver the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 safely."
The T20 World Cup is slated to begin on October 17th and will go on till November 14th.