Rain may play spoilsport in Kochi ODI

As cricket loving Kochi gears up to host the first ODI of the three-match series against the West Indies here Nov 21, the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) fears that rain may play a spoilsport.

The northeast monsoon hits the state around October-November. The match will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium and would be played under floodlights.

The KCA claims it has got the drainage system in the ground redone but a recent Duleep Trophy semi-final match between North Zone and East Zone was affected by the rain.

"Some sort of probe has to be launched because they (KCA) have spent a huge amount for it. It remains to be seen, if it rains, will the upcoming ODI be staged properly," said Ajith Kumar a former KCA secretary who has a long-running feud with the present set of office-bearers led by its president T.C.Mathew.

This would be the ninth ODI that would be staged in Kochi. The last time, Kochi hosted an ODI was on Jan 15, 2013, when India defeated the visiting England side led by Alastair Cook by 127 runs.

"This is great news as we have got this out of turn and this shows the full confidence that the BCCI has in the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA). There's no doubt that like in the past this too is going to be a huge success," said former Kerala cricketer P. Balachandran.

For Kochi, the match will be a welcome break after the state's star cricketer Sreesanth was banned for life by the Indian cricket board for his role in alleged spot-fixing.