Abhilash Khandekar, the President of Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, is thrilled about Gwalior\u2019s return to hosting international matches. \u201cI am feeling absolutely great as only on June 15, we had inaugurated the new stadium, which is the second international facility within Madhya Pradesh.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe also hosted the first local league by the name of MP Premier League in the same stadium with franchises and top players from Madhya Pradesh playing there. So, I am definitely very happy that the BCCI has taken a decision to shift the match and allot it to Gwalior\u2019s new stadium which is having capacity of about 25,000 people,\u201d he said in an exclusive conversation with IANS.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Since 1988, the Captain Roop Singh Stadium hosted international cricket matches in Gwalior. The venue, named after the two-time Olympic gold medallist in hockey, initially served as a hockey stadium before being repurposed to host cricket matches.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Since the venue fell under the jurisdiction of the Gwalior Municipal Corporation and, with the requirement of a stadium that met international standards, the MPCA began construction of the new stadium in 2011.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWith the specialised cricket pitches and stadiums requirement by the international standards, we had bought this land (for the new stadium) about 10-12 years ago with the help of BCCI\u2019s funding. They give some grants to us for infrastructure development or for the development of cricket, which we have done,\u201d added Khandekar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Situated on the Mumbai-Agra highway, the new stadium spans 30 acres of land and is about eight kilometres away from Gwalior city. Among the attendees at its inauguration on June 15 were BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, 1983 ODI World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, and Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIt took more than 4-5 years to build the stadium, though it took more than that time. But in the last three years, we did focused work and completed the stadium almost in December 2023, though some works were left out. The local people of Gwalior were bereft of cricket activities for a long time. So, they also enjoyed the MP League, where lots of good cricket was witnessed there in 10 days,\u201d stated Khandekar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
With less than two months remaining for Gwalior to host the India-Bangladesh T20I, Khandekar says the MPCA has swiftly taken action to prepare the venue for the game. \u201cWe had consulted the BCCI for the dressing room and television crew requirements while constructing the stadium. Everything was made as per the new norms of the BCCI and other stakeholders.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cNow we are immediately starting to work on whatever loose ends that are left behind for an international game because when we did the MP League, we did not have any tickets for the people. We did issue passes but that was because of the local nature of the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
With less than two months remaining for Gwalior to host the India-Bangladesh T20I, Khandekar says the MPCA has swiftly taken action to prepare the venue for the game. \u201cWe had consulted the BCCI for the dressing room and television crew requirements while constructing the stadium. Everything was made as per the new norms of the BCCI and other stakeholders.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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