Eden Gardens gears up for cricketing action with Bengal T20 Challenge
Nov 23, 2020
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], November 23 : The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) is all set to roll out the maiden edition of Bengal T20 Challenge as six of the top club teams gear up to vie for the trophy at Eden Gardens from Tuesday.
The CAB office bearers led by president Avishek Dalmiya and ably supported by secretary Snehasish Ganguly worked tirelessly for the last 30 days to put this event together setting up elaborate security measures and putting in place detailed COVID protocols ensuring complete safety of the stakeholders of the tournament.
Talking about the challenge, CAB president Avishek Dalmiya said: "We have worked very hard to put the tournament in place. A series of Covid tests were done to prune out anyone positive. Unfortunately, six people, including five of our players, tested positive. The rest are okay and have been put inside the bio-bubble. This tournament is an opportunity for the youngsters to showcase their talent, while it's the right meet for the senior pros to show they are still the ones to beat.
"Psychologically also it is playing a positive impact on the players who have been confined into their houses for the last eight months. Even in the midst of the pandemic, we have been able to raise sponsors for the tournament and any surplus will be plowed back to the welfare of cricket in the state. We are committed to taking Bengal to greater heights."
Five players Abhimanyu Easwaran, Abhishek Raman (both East Bengal), Writtick Chatterjee (Mohun Bagan), Dip Chatterjee (Customs), and Roshan Singh (Tapan Memorial) tested positive for COVID-19 during the mandatory testing and as a result, they have been ruled out of the tournament.
The tournament will see 30 games played in a league format over the course of the next 13 days, with doubleheaders almost every day at 4 pm and 8 pm, except on November 26 when the games will commence at 10 am and 2 pm.
Besides, November 28 and Dec 6 will feature triple headers with the third match taking place at 12 noon. The triple headers will also feature the maiden derby between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan scheduled for 4 pm on both days. The semi-final and final will take place on December 8 and 9.
