[Nadim]

Bangladesh Cricket Board president AHM Mustafa Kamal on Saturday announced that the Sylhet divisional stadium will be renovated to meet the standards of an international venue by 2012. The announcement came after a view-exchange meeting, chaired by finance minister Abul Maal Muhith, at the Rose Garden Hotel in Sylhet where the board’s directora are currently holding a meeting with the aim to decentralise cricket and to provide the region with a much-needed impetus for the game.

‘The divisional stadium will be transformed into an international venue by 2012,’ Kamal told reporters.

The finance minister said it is a dream of the people of Sylhet to have an international cricket venue and urged the sports ministry to implement the project quickly.

‘We have taken initiative to set up an international cricket venue in Sylhet soon,’ Muhith told reporters.

‘The finance ministry has asked the sports ministry to take necessary steps and speed up the implementation of the project. The government will cooperate in every possible manner,’ said Muhith.

State minister for youth and sports Ahad Ali Sarkar assured the BCB of all kinds of cooperation from his ministry.

‘We have taken up a project worth Tk 65.91 crore to transform the divisional stadium into an international venue and the renovation works will begin in the current fiscal year,’ said Ahad.

The discussion meeting was also attended by the mayor of Sylhet Badruddin Ahmed and the members of the parliament Hafiz Ahmed Mazumder, Jebunnesa Haque and Mahmudus Samad Chowdhury.

Jalal Ahmed Chowdhury, spokesman for the BCB media, was happy with the

outcome of the discussions.

‘This was the reason why we came here. We are happy that we could achieve our goal,’ said Jalal.

It was learnt that the BCB would formally apply to the International Cricket Council for approval of the Sylhet stadium as an international venue after the completion of the renovation works by 2013.

http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/sports/26390.html

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