In about three weeks, Nisshin, a small city east of the Japanese port hub Nagoya, will be buzzing with some of Asia’s top cricketing stars, including India captain Shreyas Iyer, experienced pacer Jasprit Bumrah and rising star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The cricket tournament at the Asian Games will begin on September 17, two days before the opening ceremony of the Games.
However, concerns have been raised by participating cricket boards over Korogi Sports Park, a converted baseball field that still has a pitcher’s mound just beyond the boundary. The venue is part of Japan’s ambitious push to popularise cricket in a baseball-dominated country, which the ICC has long identified as one of its priority markets.
According to a report in The Indian Express, the recently laid and relatively untested surface at the venue, along with the lack of proper dressing-room facilities and tiny hotel rooms where there “might not be any space to keep a kitbag”, have left some of Asia’s top teams concerned.
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The report said the Pakistan Cricket Board was the first to raise the alarm during an Asian Cricket Council meeting earlier this month. That was followed by discussions involving India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and other members, after which it was decided that the ACC would send representatives to inspect the venue and players’ accommodation.
“It is a very rudimentary ground, and there remains a question mark over the quality of the pitch. It has been laid very recently and, apart from one tournament, that too in May, hasn’t been tested much. There are no proper dressing rooms as well,” a source told The Indian Express.
Following the feedback at the meeting, the publication learnt that the BCCI approached the Indian Olympic Association and the Organising Committee of the Asian Games.
An IOA official said: “Since we do not have any role in the technical aspects of a sport, we have advised the BCCI to consult the Organising Committee.”
India’s women will begin their Asian Games campaign against hosts Japan on September 17, while the men, as one of the seeded teams, will enter the competition at the quarter-final stage on September 28.
Both Indian teams are seeded and have therefore avoided the preliminary stage. The women’s tournament is an eight-team competition beginning directly with the quarter-finals, while the men’s event features 10 teams, with six sides playing a preliminary round before the quarter-finals.
The Indian teams are expected to travel to Nagoya around September 14 or 15, according to the report. India’s women, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, will then open their campaign against hosts Japan at Korogi Sports Park.
