A Test venue under water

Two years have gone by but the pictures remain much the same. Heavy rainfall has caused waterlogging in the premises of the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium (KSOAS) in Fatullah, with sewage and waste from nearby dyeing mills seeping through and creating noxious smells. With so much standing water, mosquitoes are also an ever-present threat. In August 2017, a warm-up two-day match between BCB XI and the visiting Australians was cancelled because the ground and surrounding areas could not be prepared in time following heavy rainfall.

Photo: Firoz Ahmed

There is a warm-up T20 slated for September 11 between BCB XI and Zimbabwe, but there is doubt over that game as well given the current state of the stadium as shown in the pictures. The outfield of the outer stadium is still submerged, but the main stadium is in better condition because of better drainage. A team from BUET recently visited KSOAS to identify solutions, but in the short-term there seems to be no fix for one of the country's international venues.