ICC dismisses plea to keep World Cup tie at Eden Gardens

Paint containers hang from scaffolding in a stand under construction at Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata on January 27, 2011. -Photo by AFP NEW DELHI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has rejected the Indian board’s request to keep Eden Gardens in Kolkata as the venue for the World Cup match between India and England on Feb. 27. The ICC had asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India to find an alternative venue because Eden Gardens was under-prepared due to a delay in rennovation work. In an email to BCCI president Shashank Manohar, ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said the request had been turned down. "I told him the ICC could not accommodate the request," Lorgat was quoted as saying by the Cricinfo website. "There was too much of planning and too much of logistics that would be involved." Manohar was not immediately available for comment. The Cricket Association of Bengal, which has its headquarters at Eden Gardens, asked the ICC through the BCCI to give another extension, promising to have the work completed by Feb. 7.