Pitch overhaul in progress for NPL and U19 World Cup

Ground staff are working diligently to overhaul the pitches at Nepal's cricket venues, including the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, in preparation for the upcoming third edition of the Nepal Premier League (NPL) and the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup. The process involves stripping away old topsoil, removing dead vegetation, and transplanting fresh local grass to create more robust playing surfaces.

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Ground staff have removed the ruined soil all the way down to the roots while preparing the new pitch, after which they started planting grass, which will be completed today.

Roshan Kumar Singh, vice president of the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) and tournament coordinator, explained that the goal is to achieve deeper grass root penetration, ideally four inches, which binds the soil and allows the wicket to set properly. This is crucial for consistent pitch behavior, moving away from the issues of previous seasons where pitches quickly lost their grass cover and reverted to slow, low conditions, favoring spin bowlers.

The overhaul is particularly important as Nepal co-hosts the U19 Women's T20 World Cup, the largest cricket event the country has been involved in. Work is underway at multiple venues, including Kirtipur, Upper Mulpani, and Lower Mulpani, with a total of eight pitches being prepared in Kirtipur, seven in Upper Mulpani, and six in Lower Mulpani.

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The crucial factor is how long the grass remains on the wicket. As long as the grass stays, the pitch remains good. Once it dies off, the surface turns flat. If grass roots penetrate four inches deep, they bind the soil together, allowing the wicket to set properly.

However, curators face a significant challenge with a tight deadline. With the NPL set to return after the Dashain festival, they have only about two and a half months to complete the work. Singh admitted that achieving the desired four-inch root depth within this timeframe is unlikely, especially as root growth naturally slows in the month of Bhadra. The choice of grass also plays a role, with Bermuda grass offering longer-lasting results but not being an option for the current renovation.

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Given the tight timeframe, the chances of roots reaching the full four inches are slim. Had we used Bermuda grass, the wicket would have lasted for years, but we simply did not have