Picture Credit: X
The second ODI which was played between Rohit Sharma-led Team India and England, saw the game being halted for over 30 minutes due to floodlights failure at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Sunday, February 9. While this was a massive issue which saw the players from both teams to halt their innings and return to the dressing room until the issue was resolved.
However, in the wake of the same, the Odisha government had sought after an explanation from the officials regarding the unexpected incident, issuing a show cause notice while demanding a detailed report of the technical issue. Notably, the incident unfolded in the seventh over of the India innings with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill in the middle. In an unexpected turn of events, one of the light towers suffered a malfunction, leaving a part of the ground in partial darkness.
OCA Secretary Sanjay Behera opens up on floodlight malfunction in second ODI
Speaking to the media after the completion of the second ODI in Cuttack, OCA Secretary Sanjay Behera said that a generator malfunction led to long floodlight failure. In a statement quoted by Times Now, Sanjay Behera said, "When one generator malfunctioned, we put the second one in service. But it required some time to move the generator as the players' vehicle was parked in between the tower and the second generator."
While this incident raised concerns around Cuttack’s organisational infrastructure in hosting international matches, on Monday, February 11, the Odisha government had issued a show cause notice to the stadium, addressing the Odisha Cricket Association. The notice read, “The Odisha Cricket Association is hereby directed to submit a detailed explanation for the cause of the disruption and identify the persons/agencies who were responsible for such lapses and outline the measures taken to prevent similar incidents in the future.”
The stadium authorities along with the cricket association have been asked to address the issue, supporting it with a detail report in next ten days. It is to be noted that the Barabati Stadium staged an international match, an ODI after six years on Sunday, February 9.
