Bhubaneswar, Feb 10
The Odisha Sports and Youth Services Department on Monday issued a show-cause letter against Odisha Cricket Association seeking explanation over the disruptions occurred during the international cricket match between India and England played at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on February 9 due to the failure of a floodlight.
Director of Sports, Siddhartha Das has issued a letter in this regard to the Honorary Secretary of OCA, directing him to submit a detailed reply within 10 days.
Das wrote in the show-cause letter that during the 2nd One Day International (ODI) cricket match between India and England on Sunday at Barabati Stadium, one floodlight suddenly went off, and the match was disrupted.
This incident led to the suspension of the match for around 30 minutes causing inconvenience to players and spectators.
"Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) 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 findings must be submitted within 10 days upon receipt of this letter," the Odisha Sports department said.
Odisha Sports Minister Suryabanshi Suraj told the reporters that a written explanation has been sought from the OCA and action will be taken against responsible persons for the unwarranted delay in repairing the technical glitches after lights went off during the match.
Meanwhile, senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Lenin Mohanty on Monday demanded resignation of the sports minister on moral grounds for the mismanagement that occurred during the international match.
The BJD also demanded strict action against the persons found responsible for the incident.
It is pertinent here to mention that the disruption took place during the seventh over of India's innings when Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill were at the crease during the ODI match on Sunday.
The floodlights flickered in the sixth over and completely went off in the seventh over.
On the other hand, the OCA authorities stated that a generator at the stadium failed to function which led to the temporary failure of the floodlight.
The official told the media that the replacement of the malfunctioned generator took time as the back-up generator could not reach in time.
- IANS