Cricket-loving India suffered a sporting humiliation on Thursday when its most famous ground, Eden Gardens in Kolkata, was declared unfit to host its first fixture of next month’s World Cup.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) said another stadium would have to be found to hold the India-England clash on February 27 after a renovation programme at Eden Gardens fell months behind schedule.

“Regrettably, Eden Gardens has not made sufficient progress to justify the level of confidence required to confirm that the venue would be ready in good time,” ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said in a statement.

The ICC did not say where the game would be played and said it would face a “challenge” to relocate the game because of last-minute ticketing and travel requirements.

Three other World Cup fixtures, which runs from February 19 to April 2 in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, are also scheduled to take place at the ground.

The decision was a major blow for India’s image and the estimated 64,000 spectators who were expected to pack the legendary stadium, which has been undergoing a major renovation.

The ruling echoed the chaotic run-up to New Delhi’s 2010 Commonwealth Games, which instead of marking the arrival of a new, modern India on the world stage became a national embarrassment of delays, shoddy workmanship and alleged corruption.

“All venues had ample time in which to prepare for World Cup matches,” said Lorgat.

“We had been understanding and had provided extensions to the deadline dates but unfortunately we are now at a point where we must carefully manage our risks.”

The ICC said concerns were mainly over “cricket operations, media, broadcast and sponsorship facilities” that were not finalised or confirmed by the venue.

In recent weeks, fears had grown over Edens Gardens as it remained a chaotic scene of cranes, rubble, dust and bare concrete.

Hundreds of labourers wearing virtually no safety equipment have been toiling day and night to finish off two new blocks of stands which are still covered in scaffolding.

When an agency reporter visited in early January, seats had yet to be fitted in many tiers at the ground, which is celebrated as one of the great pilgrimage sites of international cricket.

Until Thursday’s ICC ruling, Indian organisers had been dismissing reports about problems at Eden Gardens as scare-mongering by the media.

Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) which runs Eden Gardens, said on Tuesday that the ground would host the match without difficulty.

“It appears that ICC team is happy after the inspection of the venue. The match is on 27th, we have to finish the work before the match,” he said.

In Thursday’s statement from the ICC, tournament director Ratnakar Shetty said: “We will work with the new venue, the tour operators and the ticket distributors to manage the logistical challenges that will surely arise.”

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which oversees the multi-billion-dollar sport in India and is seen as dominating the game worldwide, distanced it from the failure to rebuild Eden Gardens on time.

“I don’t think the BCCI should be blamed for this,” BCCI spokesman Rajiv Shukla said.

“These things happen. I am sure the organising committee will choose a suitable venue soon for that game. But there is no doubt the remaining matches in Kolkata will be held on schedule.”

As reports of former India captain Sourav Ganguly’s chance of making it to cricket administration are doing the rounds, Bengal formers felt that the left-hand batsman is capable of doing good job there as well.

“As a captain Sourav was very good and as a cricket administrator also he should be fine,” former India player and national selector Ashok Malhotra said.

“Sourav is very much welcome in cricket administration provided he can devote the time required. He has to decide whether would continue to play or work as a cricket administration,” Malhotra added.

Another former cricketer and national selector Sambaran Banerjee also felt that Ganguly’s knowledge about the game would be beneficial for the Indian cricket.

“It would be a welcome move. The more technical people like him join the cricket administration, the better. The Cricket Association of Bengal would definitely get the benefit of his vast experience,” he said.

Former ICC chief and currently CAB president Jagmohan Dalmiya also earlier welcomed Ganguly’s possible entry into the administration.

According to report available Ganguly would be attending the forthcoming CAB Annual General Meeting on July 31 and is likely to be included in the working committee thereafter.

Eight months after he retired from international cricket, Sourav Ganguly is all set to launch a new innings that could well see him anointed the BCCI president in five year’s time.

Please don’t dismiss this as a mere birthday wish of a left-handed stylist, who is celebrating his 37th birthday on Wednesday.

This is a realistic possibility that no one is prepared to rule out. In fact, many in the BCCI are open to the idea of Sourav becoming the BCCI president in 2014 when it is East Zone’s turn to put up a candidate for the top job, for it would necessarily mean the end of the Jagmohan Dalmiya era.

Of course, conditions do apply and the odds against him are tall, but when has that bothered the bespectacled leader who has made a career out of proving critics wrong? Sourav, for one, has made up his mind to enter the domain of cricket administration.

“I am convinced that I can play a positive role,” Sourav said in course of an exclusive interview at his Behala residence. “Having played the game at the highest level and being part of the system, I know what it takes to make a difference,” he added.

The entry point for Sourav has to be the CAB, his home association that is in a state of rut under the once powerful Dalmiya. Rumours are rife that Dalmiya’s rivals have all but convinced Sourav to contest the CAB polls later this month. However, Sourav is not prepared to rush into it.

“At some point, I will find a way to get into the CAB where people have known me since I was a kid. I have respect for them and I am sure they will appreciate my concern for Bengal cricket and the difference I can make. I am in no hurry,” Sourav said.

To get into the CAB, of course, he has to beat Dalmiya at his own game. Sourav is well aware that it took Dalmiya’s foes in the BCCI close to 15 years to throw him out. Sourav’s supporters reckon that under Dada’s leadership, the task of capturing the CAB can be achieved in a much smaller time frame.

Unless he is convinced about the numbers on his side in a 121-strong vote bank, Sourav will not jump into the poll fray this time around. He would rather wait and watch for another year. It suits him because it still leaves him with enough time to meet all the criteria to contest for BCCI’s top post.

Suggest that to Sourav, and he laughs. “It’s a possibility, but right now I am not looking that far ahead. I intend to take it step by step. Five years is a long time…,” sighed the man who could well be the most powerful man in world cricket by the time he celebrates his 40th birthday.