Kanpur curator insists that IND v NZ wicket will be a sporting one

The Green Park Stadium in Kanpur will host the first IND v NZ Test of the series. However, the occasion will be much more special than that when Virat Kohli leads the Indian team for the 500th time in Test matches. With some of the New Zealand players fearing the worst in terms of conditions, the Green Park Stadium curator has insisted that he would prepare a wicket befitting sportsmanship.

Shiv Kumar, the curator of the Kanpur wicket has gone on to state that he would prepare a wicket that would not turn from the very first day’s play. Kumar also went on to add that the wicket would start turning only from the third day’s play.

“I am preparing a sporting wicket and not a square turner,” he told TOI on Sunday. “It will turn, but from Day Three,” he said, adding: “Toss will be crucial as batting will be the easiest on the opening two days.”

One of the biggest controversies that have engulfed the cricketing world in recent times is the fact that the outfield conditions have not been good enough to allow play to go on after a substantial amount of rainfall. However, the fact of the matter is that Shiv Kumar has confirmed that the facilities are good enough to avoid such a situation.

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Earlier last month, India had been robbed of the world number one ranking in the West Indies where the final Test match was washed out courtesy of rain. Kanpur has seen its substantial amount of rain in recent times, but the curator has reiterated that the facilities are good enough to avoid such issues. “We have the latest ground and pitch preparation facilities.”

The rains in the final Test match between India and the West Indies had been washed out with the likes of Sir Viv Richards and Farokh Engineer condemning the ordeal.