Ghulam Ali concert at Eden Gardens: Good sense prevails
According to earlier reports, Eden Gardens was the venue a music concert by the famous Pakistani singer, Ghulam Ali, ahead of the World T20.
Published : Jan 07, 2016 20:18 IST
A propose move to hold a Ghulam Ali concert at Eden Gardens has now fallen through with Cricket Association of Bengal's President Sourav Ganguly stating: "There is an ICC inspection on January 15 and holding any concert before that may affect Eden Garden's chances of hosting World T20 matches. We will convey this message to Chief Minister."
India will be hosting the 2016 World Twenty20 from March 8 to April 3, and the historic Eden Gardens will be the venue for the final. As a result, CAB had shifted two domestic matches out of the iconic stadium so that they could get the stadium and the ground ready for the final on April 3.
According to earlier reports, Eden Gardens was the venue for the concert by the famous Pakistani singer.
The concert — scheduled to be held at the Park Circus maidan on January 12 — has been shifted now to the Mohun Bagan Ground, owing to security concerns. The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, had approached the CAB chief, requesting the cricket association to allow the concert to be held at Eden Gardens.
Reports earlier suggested that the former India skipper has given the green signal.
When contacted by Sportstar , the CAB Treasurer, Biwaroop Dey, said, “There is no official confirmation about such an event and none that I know of. Even in yesterday’s working committee meeting no such matter was discussed. As far as I can remember, in the last 50 years of Eden Gardens’ history, no such concert or event has taken place.”
Sultan Ahmed, Trinamool Congress MP and Chairman of West Bengal Minorities Financial Development Corporation, the organisers of the concert, said: “Nothing has been finalised yet; we are looking at all options and will arrive at a decision in a day or two.”
In November last, the CAB shifted two Ranji Trophy matches out of Eden Gardens. The Bengal versus Vidarbha game was shifted to the Jadavpur University Campus, while the match between Bengal and Odisha was moved to the Bengal Cricket Academy Ground in Kalyani. At that time, coring was being done on the outfield of the ground.