Is Delhi fit to host the CWG after the ODI fiasco?

First the match at Vizag was shifted to Nagpur at the last minute owing to unrest in Andhra, then there was a powercut in the famed Eden gardens at Kolkata, no tickets were sold during that game, to top it all the match at the Ferozshah Kotla in Delhi was called off after the pitch turned out to be unsuitable and too dangerous.

To add the bitter salt, the Kotla stadium faces a ban up to one year and may be disallowed to host the 2011 World Cup matches. All things considered, is India ready to host the Commonwealth Games in 2010? A lot of money is spent on cricket matches, but the logistics seem all over the place, how will India cope with the enormous task of hosting the CWG? And how will India handle criticisms if things go wrong during the event?

The pitch fiasco at Delhi goes down as one of the most embarrassing affairs in the history of Indian cricket. India also holds the dubious record of canceling TWO international matches because the ground conditions weer unfit for players. (The same thing happened 12 years ago when the game between India and Lanka at the Nehru Stadium in Indore was called off owing to a poor pitch). To host any more matches, the pitch at the Indian capital needs re-accreditation as an international venue from the ICC, but not before facing a ban of 12-24 months. An ICC spokesman said that the process has started and Match Referee Alan Hurst would submit his report in the next 12 hours.

"The BCCI will also get 14 days to reply and the entire process may take about four weeks before a final decision is taken on Delhi as a venue," the spokesman said. The five-member Grounds and Pitches Committee including Daljit Singh, Dhiraj Parsana (west), PR Viswanathan (south), Rajiv Gokhale (central) and Rahul Das (east) was disbanded by the BCCI hours after the shameful event and the Delhi and District Cricket Association indicated that it would form a two-member committee to probe the incident. The stadium was packed with more than 45,000 spectators who threw bottles and chair covers after the match was called off. Their tickets were not refunded. Former cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar, Bishan Singh Bedi, Dilip Vengsarkar, Abbas Ali Baig and Madan Lal condemned the fiasco and ridiculed the DDCA and the Grounds and Pitches Committee for the lapse.

Ironically, the Delhi and District Cricket Associated headed by senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley had decided to relay the pitch after the a series of low scoring matches at the venue. An apologetic DDCA on Sunday said it would take all possible steps to ensure that such an incident did not happen again.

"We regret the inconvenience caused to all spectators and others. We offer our apologies to them. We have decided that all gate tickets will be refunded," Jaitley said. "We have taken the matter very seriously. Though it is a technical matter as pitches come into the supervision of BCCI's technical committee, we will look into every aspect of the issue so that it is not repeated again," he said.

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