Green Park Stand 'Dangerous' for IND vs BAN 2nd Test: Can't 'Bear Weight of 50 Fans if They Jump on Rishabh Pant's Six'

After defeating Bangladesh comprehensively in Chennai, Team India has reached Kanpur for the final Test of the 2-match series. The game begins on Friday at Green Park but if reports are to be believed, the stadium isn’t fully ready to have a full house for the Test match.

According to The Indian Express, one of the Green Park stands – Stand C – has been ‘deemed dangerous’ by the Uttar Pradesh Public Work Department (UP PWD). They have asked the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) to sell tickets less than half the capacity of the Balcony C Stand.

“The PWD has raised some issues and we have agreed that we will not sell all the tickets of Balcony C,” UPCA CEO Ankit Chatterjee was quoted as saying by a leading national daily.

“We have been told to sell only 1700 tickets for the stand, which has a capacity of 4,800. The repair work will continue for the next couple of days,” he added.

As per the PWD officials, accommodating a sizeable crowd in that particular stand could be risky and has also warned the UPCA to close the stand during the match starting on Friday.

“This stand won’t be able to take the weight of even 50 fans if they start jumping after Rishabh Pant hits a six. This part of the stadium is in dire need of repair,” a PWD engineer was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

Floodlights are also a Concern

Apart from the critical condition of Stand C, the floodlights at the stadium also raise a concern. The report further stated that at least 8 bulbs of one of the floodlights aren’t working properly.

When India last played a Test match in Kanpur, New Zealand tailenders Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel drew the game for New Zealand as poor visibility played a vital part. It’s been three years since that Test match but the issue with floodlights is yet to be resolved.

Green Park Not Under UPCA

The Green Park Stadium doesn’t come directly under UPCA and is owned by the state government’s sports department. This is one of the main reasons why the state cricket association functions from the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow which has much better facilities.