Bhubaneswar: June 10: Barabati Stadium, the 58-year-old stadium hosted the last Test match in November, 1995, where India played New Zealand. The Test resulted in a draw and India won the 3-match Test series 1-0. After 21 years gap, Odisha was expecting to be in the list of test venues this time. But, Barabati Stadium in Cuttack has missed out a long list of Test venues scheduled for the packed 2016-17 season as announced by the Tour Programs & Fixtures Committee of the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) yesterday. But, Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) honorary secretary Asirbad Behera, denied the BCCI statement and ascertained that the stadium will get it in next year January i.e Bangladesh One-off Test Match.
But, it’s good news for Odisha cricket lovers as Barabati Stadium India-England one day match in January next year. The announcement made by BCCI yesterday put an end to the uncertainty whether Barabati will hold International Matches after last year’s happening. Notably, In October 2015, the image of Barabati stadium was tarnished by its local crowd. During India’s second T20 international match against South Africa spectators created a ruckus within the ground premises, owing to a not-so-impressive display by the home team. Under the captaincy of MS Dhoni, India was bowled out for 92 runs playing first. When South Africa came to chase small target, Cuttack spectators started hurling water bottles and projectiles on field.
