Asian Games Cricket Venue in Nisshin Faces Pitch and Facilities Concerns
· Sports · Indian Express, Cricbuzz
The Asian Cricket Council will send a team to inspect the cricket venue at the upcoming Asian Games in Nisshin, Japan, after the Pakistan Cricket Board raised concerns about playing conditions. The venue at Korogi Sports Park was a baseball ground until March, when it was converted with temporary stands for around 2,000 spectators and a hybrid pitch of natural grass with polyethylene fibres that has only been tested at one ICC T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier in May. Sources told The Indian Express that the facility lacks proper dressing rooms and that the players' hotel rooms are too small to accommodate kitbags. Following the feedback at an ACC meeting attended by India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, the BCCI approached the Indian Olympic Association, which referred the matter to the Asian Games Organising Committee. The cricket tournament is scheduled to begin on September 17, ahead of the opening ceremony on September 19, with India's squad led by Shreya
Why it matters
India's Asian Games squad, led by Shreyas Iyer, will compete at a venue that has hosted only one competitive match in the past five months, raising direct concerns about player safety and pitch behaviour for one of cricket's premier multi-sport showcases.
Read the original report — Indian Express
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