Eden raises sight screen height

Kolkata : The seating capacity of the Eden Gardens has been pruned by around 850 seats for Thursday’s crucial India-Pakistan ODI after the height of the sight screen was increased, an official said.

The raised sight screens would provide the Indian batsman a better view of Pakistani pacer Mohammad Irfan, who stands 7 feet and one inch tall.

“After consulting the umpires, we have raised the height of the sight screens which has resulted in reduction of arround 850 seats at the Club House and High Court ends,” Cricket Association of Bengal joint secretary Subir Ganguly said.

The reduction of the seats is a blow to the ordinary cricket spectators, especially when the CAB sold only 3,500 tickets to the general public with rest of seats either going complimentary or being made available to the associated clubs.

Following renovation work at the Eden Gardens during the World Cup 2011, the seating capacity was pruned from nearly 1,00,000 to 65,000.

Meanwhile, for Thursday’s marquee clash only 25 spectators from Pakistan are expected to be present although the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had asked CAB to reserve 500 seats.

“PCB told us to reserve 500 seats for their fans apart from the VIP passes and hospitality for 52 delegates. We had decided to allocate them the L block. But now we have heard only 25 fans are coming,” added Ganguly.