UPCA to hire two specialists to prevent pitch disaster in the Indian T20 League

The Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) has expressed that they will appoint two professionals for Lucknow's Ekana Stadium so that the current pitch disaster is not reprised again during the approaching season of the Indian T20 League.

"We are going to appoint two specialists who will take care of the stadium. One will be an expert on the pitch and another will be a professional on the outfield. We are taking required permissions from other state associations to hire their services," said Ankit Chatterjee, the CEO of the UPCA who confirmed the association's judgement to part ways with the curator accountable for the making of the substandard ground during the recent T20I match between India and New Zealand.

The venue attracted a lot of outrage just for the nature of its pitch during the second T20I on 29th January. Surprisingly only about 200 runs were scored in approx 20 overs with no six in the whole game. Indian skipper Hardik Pandya termed it as a shocker of a wicket. 

"To be honest, it was a shocker of a wicket. Both the games we have played so far. I don't mind difficult wickets. I am all up for that, but these two wickets are not made for T20. Somewhere down the line the curators or the grounds that we are going to play in should make sure they prepare the pitches earlier," Hardik said after India struggled its way to a fair 100-run target in the match.

Surendra Yadav was the pitch curator at that time and he is being swapped by a specialist from Gwalior, Sanjeev Agarwal. The association hasn’t yet confirmed the outfield expert. "We want the playing conditions to be foolproof and we don't want to take any chances for the Indian T20 League," the UPCA official stated. 

"The franchise also practises a lot at the ground and they need to have home advantage, we will make sure everything is in place for the Indian T20 League and we will ensure there are no such issues during the season.

Although Lucknow has hosted the Indian T20 League in the past, for the first time this year, the city will have a home team. The Indian T20 League is anticipated to start on April 1 and the Indian Cricket Board has decided to convert the standard home and away format, which was last year halted for Covid-related issues in the previous three years, from this edition of the league.