da dobrowin： The fate of Niaz Stadium hangs in balance as no decision hasyet been taken whether the ground is to be handed over tothe Pakistan Cricket Board or not for upgradation
da premier bet： M.H. Khan31-Jan-2006The fate of Niaz Stadium hangs in balance as no decision hasyet been taken whether the ground is to be handed over tothe Pakistan Cricket Board or not for upgradation.The PCB is currently developing a ground, located inMunicipal Zoo, as a part of its Infrastructure DevelopmentProgramme.The project was to be completed by August this year but ithas not been done. The ground was being prepared fordomestic circuit. When the PCB chairman visited Hyderabad inJuly last year, he had expressed his willingness to developand upgrade the Stadium.The idea for upgrading the Stadium seemed to have beendropped.The option of handing over possession of Stadium toPCB on lease could be worked out.A proposal for constructing a new cricket stadium ofinternational standard was also considered instead ofdeveloping or upgrading Niaz Stadium after the chairman’svisit keeping in view the fact that a huge amount would beincurred on the development of Niaz Stadium alone.The PCB had estimated Rs 20 million as over all expenditure torenovate and upgrade the Stadium. But the PCB opted for thedevelopment of ground in Municipal Zoo and the defunctHyderabad Municipal Corporation with signature of itsoutgoing Administrator Shams Jafrani handed over possessionof ground in Zoo to PCB for development.A former senior official of HMC claimed that when PCB soughtcomplete transfer of the ground at that time, the HMC wasnot ready to transfer complete control and hand overpossession of Stadium to PCB because it would cease itsright of ownership of the Stadium in that case.On Tuesday Anwar Khan, a former Test cricketer representingCricket Management Committee chairman Iqbal Qasim, visitedthe Niaz Stadium following reports of its poor condition.Now the grass is being mowed. A tractor of the ground hasbeen brought back. He has expressed the hope that thePatron’s Trophy match of Nov 2 to be played between KRL andCustoms would be held as per schedule.
