IPL team inspects Raipur stadium

Raipur: A three-member Indian Premier League (IPL) team led by its Tournament Committee Chairman Dhiraj Malhotra today inspected the newly-built state-of-the-art Rs 100-crore International Cricket Stadium to explore the possibility of shifting a couple of IPL matches here.

The trio, which spent nearly three hours while taking stock of the 65,000-capacity stadium and other infrastructure soon after its arrival from Delhi this morning, is said to have expressed satisfaction over the ground condition and other aspects.

Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh (CSCS) President Baldev Singh Bhatia, who apprised the IPL team of the stadium, said the team dubbed the stadium as '''one of the best in the country.'' Two other committee members -- Board of Control for Cricket in India Pitch and Ground Committee Chairman Daljit Singh and Delhi Cricket Association Secretary Sunil Dev also had a second round of inspection of the wicket this evening.

Bhatia told UNI that the members also met a group of senior engineers regarding completion of some ongoing expansion projects in the 50-acre stadium complex.

The CSCS is leaving no stone unturned to bring the high-profile IPL matches to the stadium following Chief Minister Raman Singh's assurance to provide necessary security.

Bhatia said the IPL committee, which had given a positive indication about the possibility of holding Twenty-20 matches here, was likely to rush another team of officials and technical personnel to oversee the finishing work before making a final decision.

Bhatia asserted that all changes required in players' dressing rooms and other facilities could be completed in two-three weeks.