Uncertainty over choice of UPCA venue for India-New Zealand ODI

Confusion prevails over where the third One-Day International between India and New Zealand, scheduled for October 29, will be played. While the Board of Control for Cricket in India had stated Kanpur's Green Park Stadium as the venue in its initial home schedule announcement, it has swiftly been changed to a more generic Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association in the itinerary confirmation revealed on Thursday (September 7).

While the UPCA officials are trying to bring the match to Lucknow - where the opener of Duleep Trophy 2017 is being hosted - the stadium is still under construction and all the required infrastructure and logistical facilities are not in place to host an international fixture. Functionaries of the board refuse to divulge just how much work is pending. Moreover, the new stadium is yet to get the required permission from the International Cricket Council to host international matches.

However, officials remain confident that all the work, currently underway in full tilt for over a week since they got the hosting rights for Duleep Trophy, will be completed in the next 40 days. If not, the match will be played at Green Park.

T20I shifted out of Barabati; Odisha cricket in limbo

The venue of the third Twenty20 International between India and New Zealand, set to be played on November 7, has also been shifted from Cuttack's Barabati Stadium to Thiruvananthapuram due to Bali Jatra, an Odisha festival slated to begin on November 4. This is a reaction to what happened in 2014, when India and Sri Lanka had played a one-dayer in Cuttack on November 2, two days before the festival. The preparations for the same took a hit due to the match and locals had raised an issue.

However, this is not to discount the fact that the mid-pitch of Barabati Stadium is in poor condition after the stadium having hosted the Federation Cup, All India Football Federation (AIFF) matches and Football Association of Odisha (FAO) matches in the last few months.

With the Odisha Cricket Association already functioning without any official office bearers, following the overhaul of the previous administration in line with the Lodha Committee recommendations, there are already numerous issues to tackle with. With the association wanting to repair the damaged ground to host an international match, none of the Ranji Trophy matches will be taking place in Barabati Stadium this year.

To make matters worse, sources confirmed that the OCA is finding it tough to fund for matches in two of its college grounds - Cuttack's DRIEMS Stadium and Bhubaneshwar's KIIT Ground, and fears that despite the home-away concept getting reinstated, Odisha won't be playing its 'home' matches at home.

Meanwhile, Odisha's Ranji Trophy camp, which was set to start in July, has got off to a two-month delayed start. Only a month remains for the players to complete their preparations and for the selectors to pick their best squad.