Eden Gardens awaits favourable verdict from ICC team

There was some apprehension on the roof cover over the metal structures in the B, C, K and L blocks, but the CAB said it was not mandatory as per the ICC guidelines and it would not be any hindrance.

The historic venue had earlier missed two deadlines -- November 30, 2010 and January 15, 2011 -- to complete the work even as the CAB authorities maintained that all was well with the Eden.

The CAB was confident after the ICC inspectors had the final inspection for the India-England match on January 25.

But their biggest jolt came two days later when the ICC ruled out the venue for their trophy match of the World Cup scheduled for February 27 that meant a loss of revenue for CAB to the tune of Rs 50 crore.

"The Central Organising Committee had provided venues with a deadline of November 30, 2010 to complete all construction work and then to be match-ready by December 31 2010. An extension was granted by the ICC for five venues, which were again inspected over the past week. Sadly, Eden Gardens in Kolkata was unable to meet the final deadline," ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat had stated.

"Regrettably, Eden Gardens has not made sufficient progress to justify the level of confidence required to confirm that the venue would be ready in good time. This was no easy decision to take and while it is most unfortunate, it is absolutely necessary," Lorgat said.

The CAB through BCCI had appealed to the ICC to grant a time frame till today -- 20 days ahead of the India-England scheduled fixture -- to get the venue ready.

But the ICC rejected the appeal and the India-England match was shifted to Bangalore. The remaining three World Cup matches in the Eden Gardens are: South Africa vs Ireland (March 15), Netherlands vs Ireland (March 18) and Zimbabwe vs Kenya (March 20).