ODI series: First batch of Indian team to arrive on Saturday

GUWAHATI: Players of the Indian cricket team will arrive in the city in two batches for the forthcoming ODI which will be held at ACA Stadium on January 10. The first batch, composed of cricketers who are not the part of the ongoing T20 Series, will land in Guwahati on January 7. The remaining cricketers and Sri Lanka team will touch down in the city next day evening, January 8.

After a long time Assam cricket Association is going to host an ODI at the ACA Stadium, Barsapara. Last time a ODI was held at the same venue in 2018 where Kohli-led India won against West Indies by 8 wickets. India chased 323 successfully with centuries from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

Addressing a media gathering the president of the Assam Cricket Association Taranga Gogoi said, "As per the itinerary sent by the BCCI Indian team will arrive in the city in two parts. In the first batch those cricketers will arrive on January 7 who are not the part of the current T20I series. Other team members and the Sri Lanka team will reach on January 8. Both the teams will attend the net session on January 9."

Meanwhile the sale of the tickets for the forthcoming match is going on full swing. Gogoi informed that around 17,000 tickets were sold out. "We had started to sell the tickets in December and around 10,000 tickets were already sold online through bookmy show. Another 7000 tickets are purchased by the cricket lovers through our affiliated district units across the state. We have already opened one offline ticket counter at the Nehru Stadium and hope that the remaining tickets will be finished very soon," Gogoi said.

It may be mentioned here that although the capacity of the ACA Stadium is nearly 34,000 but around 27,000 tickets are kept reserved for the common spectators. This time the minimum price of the ticket is Rs 1500 and highest is Rs 6,000. The price of a student ticket is fixed at Rs 475.

Meanwhile the preparation of the match is going on full swing at the ACA Stadium. The ACA officials felt that the game is a crucial one for them as the association is on the line to host a few games in next edition of IPL and also a contender to host the 50-over World cup match which India will host this year.

Highlighting the point Gogoi said, "We are trying our best to provide every facility that is mentioned in the guidelines so that players and the crowds don't face any trouble during the match day. We are the strong contender to host a few IPL games this season and also the World cup Cricket which India will host this year. Several upgradation works are going on in various areas and we are optimistic that ACA will host the match successfully."

The joint secretary of the ACA Rajendra Singh and treasurer Chiranjib Langthasa also attended the media briefing along with the other officials of the organization.

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