CWC 2023 venues to get upgrades: Red soil pitches, new outfield, and more

The stadiums that are set to host ICC 50-over Cricket World Cup (CWC) games in October-November will undergo a series of infrastructure upgrades ahead of the highly-anticipated tournament, The Indian Express reported on Friday. The Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) will give every CWC stadium a grant of Rs 50 crore to improve its infrastructure ahead of the tournament. More than Rs 500 crore has been budgeted by the BCCI crore to be distributed among the 10 World Cup venues.

Ahmedabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Dharamsala, Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Lucknow, and Kolkata will host World Cup games. Warm-up games for the tournament will be staged in Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram.

Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, which is scheduled to host four group-stage matches and a semi-final of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, will undergo several renovations in preparation for the tournament. These renovations include relaying the outfield, upgrading to new LED lighting, renovating the corporate boxes, and refurbishing the toilets.

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The renovations at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai include installing new LED lights and digging up the square to implant two red soil pitches. Lucknow, which is scheduled to host India's match against England, will be relaying its pitches, which received a lot of criticism during the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL). Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium will be refurbishing its seating and washrooms along with upgrading the ticketing software.

Extensive work has already been completed at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) stadium in Dharamsala for hosting five matches of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, including India's match against New Zealand. The renovations include the installation of a new drainage system with 6,000 metres of specialty pipes, an air-evacuation system to quickly remove excess rainwater, and the use of ryegrass, which is reportedly best suited for the cold weather, on the outfield. The ryegrass was first seeded at temperatures between 3 and 15 degrees in winter and mixed with shade-resistant Paspalum grass.

The stadium was unable to host the Test match against Australia earlier this year due to the renovations, but the HPCA says that it is now ready to host international cricket matches.