BLURB
A GCA official on Wednesday said that BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur has spoken with GCA officials and has conveyed that Goa should take positive steps towards building their own international cricket stadium soon so as to be eligible for hosting international fixtures
SUDHAKAR SHANBHAG
PANAJI
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wants the Goa Cricket Association (GCA) to gear up on its plans to build its own cricket stadium sooner rather than later so as to get the BCCI's clearance to host international cricket in the near future.
The BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur is in Goa and he has already sounded the GCA to get started with the stadium project.
"Thakur has spoken with the GCA officials and has conveyed that Goa should take positive steps towards owing an international cricket stadium of their own so as to get the BCCI nod for hosting ODIs on a rotation basis," a GCA official disclosed on Wednesday.
According to BCCI norms, affiliated state associations would be eligible to host international fixtures only if they own an international stadium of their own. The BCCI grants ODIs and Tests to various centres only a rotation basis.
Goa of late has been losing out on an opportunity to host international matches only because of the fact that the GCA does not own a cricket stadium of its own.
The GCA in the past had been utilizing SAG's Nehru Stadium at Fatorda to host One-day international matches, the most recent of which was held in October 2010 between India and Australia which was affected by rain. It's been five years now that the GCA has not been able to host an ODI only due to the BCCI clause which warrants state associations to build their own stadiums in order to host international fixtures.
