International cricket will return to Gwalior after a 14-year gap on Sunday but going forward the city will not have to wait that long to host high-profile matches as the newly built stadium will allow the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) to stage games ‘alternatively’ with Indore, the state association’s president Abhilash Khandekar informed PTI on Saturday.
The state-of-the-art Shrimant Madhavrao Stadium was inaugurated in June and is the new home of big-ticket cricket in the city, replacing the deteriorating Captain Roop Singh Stadium, which is run by the local corporation.
Speaking to PTI ahead of the India vs. Bangladesh T20I, Khandekar said Gwalior is a city with a rich cricketing history and therefore deserved a world-class venue.
“The ICC and BCCI want an exclusive stadium for cricket and we have two now in Gwalior and Indore. Going forward, whenever MPCA is allotted matches by the BCCI, we would want to use Gwalior and Indore alternatively. Both are traditional venues with rich history of the game,” said Khandekar.
The Holkar Stadium, located in the heart of Indore, has hosted international matches across formats including three Tests. Khandekar wants Gwalior to also a host a Test in the near future. Both the stadiums are owned by MPCA.
“We would surely want to host a Test here. The people of Gwalior would like to see that as well. The city is excited about the T20 and I hope we can have a red-ball game here soon,” said Khandekar, who said tickets for the series opener are sold out, with 30,000 spectators expected on matchday.
Organising an international match in a smaller centre poses plenty of challenges but that is not a deterrent for Khandekar and his team.
“With the heavy rain in Gwalior, there were a few challenges but we have overcome that. All the MPCA staff members working on the game are thorough professionals, they got here well in advance to prepare for the game,” he added.
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