Feroz Shah Kotla back as international venue

Dubai:

The Feroz Shah Kotla ground in New Delhi has been approved to be re-instated as an international venue from January 1, 2011 after being suspended last year following a pitch fiasco.

The venue was suspended as an international ground by the ICC since the abandonment of an One-Day International between India and Sri Lanka in December 2009.

"We are pleased with the remedial work carried out and with the playing surfaces now back to the standard expected for international matches, the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium will be re-instated as an international venue from 1 January 2011," ICC General Manager Cricket, David Richardson said.

The decision to suspend Kotla dealt a severe blow to New Delhi's chances of hosting the cricket World Cup matches scheduled to be held in February-March next year.

After a slew of remedial work of the pitch and following a series of inspections by ICC Pitch Consultant Andy Atkinson, Kotla was finally approved to be reinstated.

The Feroz Shah Kotla will host four matches during the World Cup starting with the Group B match between South Africa and West Indies on February 24.