‘Unique Experience’: UPCA Secy Arvind Srivastava ‘Satisfied’ with Smooth Conduct of WC at Lucknow’s Ekana Stadium | EXCLUSIVE

Lucknow – the city of Nawabs, delicious kebabs, lip-smacking biryanis and a humble culture that makes you fall in love in an instant. The capital city of Uttar Pradesh, always had a rich cricketing historical and in 2023, it added another feather to its cap by hosting the ICC ODI World Cup.

For Lucknow and its people, it was a matter of great pride as they were excited to host seven out of ten teams participating in the quadrennial event, and big challenge for the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA). Conducting five World Cup matches within a span of 20-odd days was a different ballgame altogether. And they came out with flying colours.

The tournament bid Lucknow adieu with match no. 34 of the tournament which saw Afghanistan crushing the semi-final dream of the Netherlands with a 7-wicket win. A day prior to the contest, News18 Cricketnext spoke to UPCA secretary Arvind Kumar Srivastava about the experience of being part of the showpiece event.

“It was a unique experience. The World Cup was held in Lucknow for the first time. And by the grace of God, we have the requisite expertise to organize such a big event. It was wonderful,” said the UPCA secretary.

South Africa thumped Australia 134 runs in what was Ekana Stadium’s World Cup debut [Oct 12] while the next one saw the five-time World Champions bouncing back to grab their first points [Oct 16]. Almost a week later [Oct 21], Sri Lanka found their first victory by defeating the Dutch, who had arrived from Dharamsala after upsetting South Africa.

But there was only one show-stopper – India vs England on Oct 29. Riding-high, the men in blue were here for their 6th consecutive win while the defending champions were running out of gas. Four losses in five matches were hurting them and India just made a big dent in their sinking ship. While India continued their winning spree with a 100-run victory, UPCA took pride in smoothly hosting the biggest game at the venue.

“The biggest challenge was India vs England. It was big because the Indian team was facing the defending champions. Also, it was the only game of Team India out of the five we hosted. Everyone wanted to watch that and it was indeed a big challenge,” Srivastava said.

“It was an ICC event hence we couldn’t have done much about the passes. On the other hand, fans had to struggle to book tickets online. To those who requested us, we had to say ‘sorry’.  It was a jam-packed house.”

“But be it the administration or judiciary, or police… the pressure was huge. I had never witnessed such a thing in my life.

Free drinking water, food stalls at every stand, first-aid and what not, the Ekana stadium was well equipped to host thousands of cricket fans, all at a time.

“At the same time, we made sure there shouldn’t be any mishap, no shortage of drinking water and the crowd should be properly managed. Ultimately, we did it with the support of the government, administration and police, that too smoothly, as per the expectations,” he added.

Rejuvenating Ekana – A Remarkable Achievement

At the beginning of 2023, the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium was pretty much in the news for all the wrong reasons. A lot was spoken about the pitches during the IPL, which prompted the BCCI to renovate the surfaces so as to prepare the venue to host a World Cup-like colossal world-class tournament.

Srivastava said it was the 4-month-long grinding that resulted in what has been in front of every cricket fan in those 22 days.

“The rebuilding process was carried out under the supervision of experts from the BCCI. It took four months of rigorous work to make it a world-class venue,” he added.

Ekana – an asset to Uttar Pradesh

Known for its royal hospitality and easy way of living, Lucknow city has certainly left a deep impact in hosting world cricket. As the Ekana stadium successfully hosted the world event, the UCPA secretary was truly satisfied with how the association made it a massive success.

“Very satisfied! The Ekana stadium has been appreciated by everyone. After the World Cup, people across the globe will recognize this venue. Undoubtedly, it’s one of the wonderful stadiums, not only in India but across the world. Even the facilities are flawless and functioning is smooth,” he said.

“It’s an asset to Uttar Pradesh,” Shrivastava concluded.