New Delhi: Preparations for the upcoming cricket World Cup have revived unhappy memories in India of the chaos that accompanied the build-up to last year's Commonwealth Games.
While the reputation of the Commonwealth Games was partially salvaged by some frantic last-minute repairs, the slow pace of renovations had already cost this month's World Cup one of its most anticipated occasions - an India match at Calcutta's Eden Gardens ground.
Where India always beats Pakistan
The venue had been earmarked to host the India-England group-stage game but that had been reallocated because Eden Gardens was deemed to be not ready.
Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium was also in doubt as a World Cup venue due to behind-schedule renovations while a poor quality pitch at New Delhi's Kotla ground had also threatened its involvement, but both were finally given the green light to host games.
Hundreds of workers were assigned to Eden Gardens to hasten renovations but a visiting International Cricket Council inspection team ruled the stadium would not be ready for its first match on Feb. 27.
India offspinner Harbhajan Singh, who took a hat-trick in a Test against Australia at Eden Gardens in 2001, said the hosts will miss the special atmosphere of playing at the 65,000-capacity ground.
"Not playing at the Eden Gardens will be a big disappointment for us,'' said Harbhajan. "It is our main ground and we have several good memories of the venue."
It was even more of a disappointment to former ICC president Jagmohan Dalmiya, whose Cricket Association of Bengal is responsible for organizing matches at the venue.
"It comes as a shock because when the ICC inspection team was here, we were given to understand that they were happy with the progress of the work and had suggested only a few minor modifications," said Dalmiya, who was one of the main organizers of the 1996 World Cup.
Dalmiya met several high-profile politicians in a bid to grant the ground a reprieve, but the decision was largely out of the hands of local officials, as the World Cup was being organized by the ICC, not the local associations which ran the 1987 and 1996 World Cups in India.
Protesters in Calcutta alleged politics in the whole affair as Dalmiya and current ICC president Sharad Pawar were known to be bitter rivals in the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
Former India football captain Chuni Goswami, who was also a first-class cricketer for Bengal, was among those who saw the embarrassment coming.
"I was disappointed that the match was taken away from the Eden Gardens, but it is not exactly unexpected. The authorities became overconfident to do everything at a time when they should have done it in parts. Things could have been different had the CAB planned their work better," he said.
It was a bitter blow for fans in Calcutta, which hosted the 1987 World Cup final when India began to emerge as a power in the game _ both on the field after winning the 1983 edition and as the sport's commercial hub.
Eden Gardens was a forgettable host in the 1996 World Cup, by which time the sport's power base had firmly moved toward the subcontinent amid an eruption of sponsorship funds.
This time around, India is firmly entrenched as the financial powerhouse driving the game, and the administrative failures are bound to be all the more glaring.
Though security is always a concern for any major sports event, India has long experience in handling any threats, via high-profile targets like the Indian Premier League and Champions League in recent years.
Managing the crowds might prove to be a handful though, with a reminder of the difficulties coming during World Cup ticket sales in Chennai, when a wall collapsed during a crush and two people suffered minor injuries.
While venues should be packed for India matches, organizers face a challenge filling the stands in Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, Chennai, Bangalore, Mohali, Nagpur and Ahmedabad for non-India matches.
"We have directed all the state associations to throw the gates open to the school children to enjoy a good day out," tournament director Ratnakar Shetty told Cricinfo. "The tickets have been very reasonably priced too."
The group stage of the 14-team tournament reverts back to the format used in 1996, which will reduce the risk of the big teams making early exits, but at the cost of lack of suspense before the knockout stages begin.
World Cup cartoons
"Economically, we all know that India is the financial powerhouse of cricket," Ratnakar said. "The exit of India and Pakistan from the 2007 World Cup was a disaster for the tournament. The sponsors, broadcasters, tour operators, West Indies board - all lost a lot of money."
This time, a total of $250 million is reported to have been spent on sponsorship rights and advertising during this tournament, with the bulk of the money coming from Indian companies or the Indian arms of international companies.
The four main sponsors of the tournament are Pepsico, LG Electronics, Hero Honda Motors and Reliance Communications, while Castrol, Reebok India, Emirates, Yahoo and Moneygram are the main associate sponsors.
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