5 international grounds in India that are ignored now

The BCCI has always been famous in the sport of cricket due to the regular construction of grounds on the Indian soil. For the Indian fans, cricket is like a religion and the grounds are no less than a temple of that particular religion.

Right from the first international cricket match hosted in India at the Gymkhana Stadium, Mumbai, the Indian Cricket has come a long way as it now holds the first rank in the list of most number of cricket grounds in a country. Altogether, more than 50 cricket grounds have been constructed on the Indian Soil and every ground has hosted at least one International game. But the sad part is that there have been some grounds which once used to host international games, are now either ignored by the BCCI or have been discarded by the fans. Whilst the new grounds get the privilege of hosting international games at regular intervals, some older ones have not held an international game in the last 20 years.

In the following slides, we will have a look at the 5 Indian grounds which have hosted at least one international game but are now ignored by BCCI.

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#1 Captain Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior

The stadium used to be a household name for every Sachin fan during the 2010-11 season. This is the ground where the master blaster scored the first double ton in the history of ODI cricket. India won that match by a huge margin of 153 runs but little did we know at that point in time that this match will turn out to be the last match played in this ground.

This multi-purpose ground situated in Gwalior has hosted a total 12 ODI games in the span of 22 years. Not many can forget the upset pulled off by Kenya at this ground against India in 1998. Kenya defeated India for the first time in the history of cricket.

But as the time passed by, people started to move on and the matches were shifted to the newer and bigger grounds. This eventually resulted in the discardure of the ground and as a result; the ground has not hosted a single game in the last 8 years.

#2 Moin-ul-Haq Stadium, Patna

From not having a Ranji team to being without a stadium, Bihar Cricket Association has left itself way behind in the field of cricket due to the internal politics. The Moin-ul-Haq stadium located in Patna (Bihar) has a capacity of 25000 and has even hosted two international matches. However, the lack of infrastructure in Bihar has led the stadium to ejection. The situations have become so poor that even the local tournaments do not take place in this stadium.

The stadium was built using best modern techniques. It has a swimming pool and a ‘turf’ pitch but the lack of maintenance has resulted in malfunctioning of the stadium. After the partition of Bihar and Jharkhand, not a single Ranji game has been organised in the stadium. The players don’t get appropriate resources and grounds to develop their skills and thus have to leave the dream of playing cricket.

#3 Keenan Stadium, Jamshedpur

This multi-purpose stadium is located in Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) and is named after the former general manager of Tata Steels, John Lawrence Keenan. It has a capacity of 19,000 people. The stadium was built in 1939 and staged the first match in 1983. The game was played between India and West Indies. It has further hosted 9 more international matches and team India has featured in 8 of them. Although, the Indian team has been able to pull off a win in just one game.

However, the stadium has not hosted any international match in the last 12 years. One of the sublime reason behind it is the infamous crowd that threw crackers on the field because India lost against West Indies. Another reason behind it is the JSCA Cricket ground which has been constructed in Ranchi. Ranchi, being the hometown of the former Indian Captain MS Dhoni, fascinates the board more than any other ground.

#4 Nahar Singh Stadium, Faridabad

The Nahar Singh Stadium or Mayur stadium is located in Faridabad (Haryana). The stadium has a capacity of 25000 people and is one of the most-lesser known stadium of India. The ground has hosted a total of 8 ODI games with India featuring in 7 of them. The first game was played between India and West Indies in 1988. The men in blue eventually lost the match. The last game at this ground was played in 2006, between India and England.

The ground has not staged a single game since then as lack of infrastructure and construction of new and sturdy grounds at short distances attract less amount of viewers.

#5 Nehru Stadium, Pune

The Nehru stadium at Pune (Maharashtra) has hosted 11 ODIs and has a sitting capacity of 25000 people. It was built in 1969 and the first international match was played in 1984 between India and England.

The ground has witnessed one of the biggest upset of cricket when Kenya defeated West Indies in a low-scoring encounter during the CWC 1996. India has played 8 ODIs here and has won 5 of them.

13 years ago, an ODI match between India and Sri Lanka turned out to be the last international cricket match played at this ground. The matches are now played at the MCA Stadium located at Pimpri, Chinchwad as it has better faculties.