IND vs AUS: No electricity at Raipur stadium for the 4th T20I; The reason will shock you

India currently lead the IND vs AUS five-match T20I series 2-1.

The fourth T20 international between India and Australia will be played today at Raipur’s Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh stadium. India are leading the five-match T20I series 2-1, as they won the first two matches, but Australia made a strong comeback in the third match, thanks to Glenn Maxwell’s superlative knock.

Both the teams have a few changes in their squads, with the majority of the ones in the Australian contingent as Glenn Maxwell and other players who were in India for the World Cup, will fly back home. For India, Shreyas Iyer has joined the squad as vice-captain for the last 2 matches.

However, just before the match, it has come to notice that the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh stadium in Raipur doesn’t have electricity in parts of the stadium and the reason is something that everyone knows- unpaid bills.

Raipur cricket stadium’s electricity shut off due to unpaid bills dating back to 2009

The stadium has an overdue bill of Rs 3.16 crore since 2009, for which the energy connection was terminated 5 years ago. At the request of the Chhattisgarh State Cricket Association, a temporary link was constructed, however, it only covers the spectators’ gallery and boxes. During today’s game, the floodlights would have to be powered by a generator.

According to Raipur Rural Circle in-charge Ashok Khandelwal, the Secretary Cricket Association has applied to expand the capacity of the stadium’s temporary connection. The temporary connection currently has a capacity of 200 KV. An application to upgrade it to 1000 KV has been authorized, but work on it has not yet begun.

The stadium’s maintenance was handed over to the Public Works Department (PWD) after construction, with the Sports Department bearing the remaining costs. The delinquent power bill has been attributed to both agencies.

The electrical supplier sent many letters to the PWD and Sports Department requesting payment, but no payment has yet been made. Since the stadium’s power outage in 2018, three international cricket matches have been held there.

Tarunesh Singh Parihar, the media coordinator for the Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh, stated that they are skeptical of hosting international matches since there will be difficulty. He stated that generators are used as an alternate option for large matches. 

“As far as the stadium lights are concerned, I don’t know how much bill is outstanding but a temporary connection has been taken in the name of CSCS,” Mr Parihar told NDTV.

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