The first World Cup warm-up match between New Zealand and Pakistan on Friday was an emphatic statement, if it were needed, of the commitment, dedication and sincerity of the ground staff of Hyderabad Cricket Association which steered clear of the politicking in the association and stood focussed on the job on hand — to ensure the best of playing conditions for the teams which will be in action at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here.
In fact, over the years, HCA has always been fortunate to have some of the most committed and selfless ground staff dating back to a few decades, when ‘Pipe’ Gopal was omnipresent at the Lal Bahadur Stadium along with trusted hands like Vittal, Gymkhana for the international and Ranji matches and also at the NFC and ECIL Grounds which are the venues of the now-defunct Moin-ud-Dowla Gold Cup.
That Rajiv Gandhi Stadium is hosting World Cup matches for the first time since it was set up in 2006, thanks to the efforts of former Test cricketer and also former BCCI president N. Shivlal Yadav and his team of HCA office-bearers is no by means an easy task. The ground staff, who quite often in the past have had to work without any pay for months due to reasons beyond their control, had to race against time and battle incessant rains.
