Duleep Trophy gets a brand new stadium for its opening and final matches
However, the stadium in Lucknow will host only the opening and final matches.
After making a stunning comeback in BCCI’s schedule, the Duleep Trophy is all set to get a new host. The brand new Ekana International Cricket Stadium in Lucknow will host the Duleep Trophy matches will kick off in the month of September. According to the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) the Duleep Trophy matches will be Day/Night matches and will be played with the pink ball.
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However, the stadium in Lucknow will host only the opening and final matches. The rest of the matches will be played at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. “The opening and final matches will be played at the Lucknow Stadium while the remaining two matches are scheduled at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur,” UPCA’s acting secretary Yudhveer Singh told HT on Wednesday.
The Duleep Trophy was excluded from BCCI’s cricketing schedule for the 2017-18 season initially. But with the objection of former Indian skipper and CAC member Sourav Ganguly, the Committee of Administrators (CoA) decided to restore the tournament. The UPCA authorities gave the tournament a green signal after the lead from the CoA. The Duleep Trophy will now take place between the 7th and the 29th of September.
“We have been communicated the schedule of the matches. We are ready to conduct the matches,” Ekana Sports City’s director Udai Sinha told HT. “We have put our best efforts to create this stadium and we can even hold international matches in future,” he said.
Uttar Pradesh was the host of the tournament last season when it was played at the Greater Noida Sports Complex ground.
India Blue registered a convincing 355-run win against India Red in the final. Cheteshwar Pujara played an unbeaten 256 run knock in the first innings which stole the limelight.
In terms of big matches in Lucknow, the KD Singh ‘Babu’ Stadium had hosted the 1989 MRF Nehru Cup match where Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by six runs. The only Test between India and Sri Lanka was played in 1993-94 where India won by an innings and 119 runs.
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