Special arrangements in place for India-Australia series decider at Kotla: DDCA President Rajat Sharma

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On the eve of the series-deciding fifth ODI between India and Australia to be played in Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) President Rajat Sharma said that the state association has made special arrangements in order to serve the people with better facilities. 

"People are so passionate about cricket and after witnessing the amount of love people have for the game and for the cricketers, we, at DDCA, wanted to provide them a new experience of watching the match at Feroz Shah Kotla," Rajat Sharma said.

"We have cleaned the entire DDCA complex, including the seats. We have also tried to provide people with basic facilities such as quality food and water. We want that people coming to watch the match should not face any kind of problems. We have also made special arrangements for parking," he added.

The DDCA chief also mentioned that the association, for the first time, will be giving couple of VIP passes to all the former international players from the state.

Elaborating on the idea, Rajat Sharma said: "This time we have decided to invite all the former international cricketers from Delhi who have represented the country. They will be given full hospitality and respect. I always feel that the cricket ground and DDCA belong to the cricketers and if they are not invited and then there's no reason behind all this.

Rajat Sharma also spoke about a new initiative by the DDCA, wherein all the members will be given two tickets for the match. This initiative is aimed at improving the experience of the members.

"During the DDCA elections, I had promised the members that they will be provided with two tickets for a match. Earlier, the members had raised the issue of getting only one ticket for a match. So, I decided to give them a pair of tickets so that they can watch the match with their respective companions and friends. Members will be given free food and water at the stands. We want to give the members a better experience of watching the match. This time we also decided to distribute the complimentary passes according to the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court," he said.

The DDCA has also dropped plans to felicitate India captain Virat Kohli along with former India openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir in the wake of Pulwama terror attack, which killed 40 CRPF personnel.

The DDCA had decided to felicitate the three 'Delhi legends' before the start of the final ODI between India and Australia on Wednesday. However, the DDCA has now decided to call off the felicitation ceremony.

The decision was taken by DDCA after BCCI decided to not only call off the IPL opening ceremony but also donate entire budget of the event for the welfare of the families of the martyrs.

"It was my wish to felicitate Virat Kohli, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra as they have done so much for Delhi cricket... they have made Delhi cricket proud in front of the whole world. But when we saw that the entire nation was mourning the loss of 40 CRPF men who were killed in the Pulwama terror attack, we decided to cancel the ceremony," Rajat Sharma said.