When the first ball is bowled on Friday, the first day of the second Test between India and New Zealand at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, one man will be quietly celebrating the fruition of an effort of eight long years. Shivlal Yadav, the former secretary and now the vice-president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) and BCCI, will be beaming with pride after all he has finally brought a Test match to the city and making this as Test centre, which is arguably one of the finest in the world.
The HCA had already hosted three one-day internationals (twice against South Africa and once against Australia) and IPL matches at this venue. “It is a dream come true. We will finally play a Test match in this city,” said Yadav, with a sense of relief and pride. Incidentally, HCA hosted three Tests at Lal Bahadur Stadium on earlier occasions, all against New Zealand. But it will be for the first time a Test match will be held at HCA’s own stadium.
According to the former Test off-spinner, this Test match will mean a lot to the association. “Apart from being recognized as a Test centre, the HCA will now be part of the working committee. That will be a huge advantage,” he said. In the working committee meetings, the non-Test centres can attend on rotation basis. “HCA will now sit along with Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi or
Chennai at the working committee meeting,” he said.
Yadav admitted that he had to convince the BCCI to make Hyderabad as a Test centre. “Fortunately, with Eden Gardens at Kolkata and Green Park Stadium at Kanpur unable to conduct the Test, we got the opportunity to conduct the match,” said Yadav. From a rocky land at the outskirts of the City to a magnificent venue is the story of the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. “It was all rocky land. It took some months to level the ground and a few years to construct a stadium. Today, it is a great moment to conduct a Test match,” said Yadav.
Yadav said they had given a lot of emphasis on players and spectators amenities The venue has one of the best dressing rooms for the players, including facilities like sauna bath.