In a bizarre incident in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur, coal-fired irons used to press clothes were brought to dry the wet pitch at the Kamla Club Ground ahead of the Cooch Behar Trophy clash between Uttar Pradesh and Delhi on Saturday.
After the clash between the two sides was shifted from Kanpur's Greenpark Stadium- an international venue- to the Kamla Club Ground, the ground staff found that the pitch had some wet areas and that even the ground had water at a few places ahead of the match.
In order to get rid of wet patches from the pitch, the staff brought some coal-fired irons and used them to dry the area. Several groundsmen were deployed with the heavy irons to ensure that the pitch is dry and match ready.
Meanwhile, other staff members used sand to soak up the excess water in the ground and make it fit for the match.
Notably, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) allots almost Rs 30 crore every year to the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) for maintenance of grounds and pitches. However, the scenes at Kanpur's Kamla Club ground shows that the state cricket association has failed to utilise the funds properly and get equipment to make the grounds and pitches dry for matches.
The incident comes just two weeks after a vacuum cleaner, a hair-dryer, and a steam iron were used to remove the damp patches from the pitch at Guwahati's Barsapara Stadium, where the opening T20I of the three-match series between India and Sri Lanka was called off due to damp outfield.
