Security stepped up in Gwalior ahead of India-Bangladesh T20I

Ahead of the T20I contest between India and Bangladesh in Gwalior on Sunday, police have beefed up security in the city and at the venue, Madhavrao Scindia Stadium, officials said on Sunday.

Prohibitory orders have already been clamped in the city and over 2,500 policemen have been deployed to keep the match incident-free, they said.

Cops will be on the streets from 2 pm on Sunday. They will be on duty till spectators reach home after the day-night game is over, police said.

After prohibitory orders were invoked two days ago, police are also keeping an eye on social media for inflammatory material, officials said

Meanwhile, right-wing outfits Bajrang Dal and Hindu Mahasabha continue to oppose the match.

Bajrang Dal's national convenor Neeraj Dauneria told reporters that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should cancel the match. “What good playing matches with Pakistan has done. Has terrorism stopped,” he asked.

There has been no improvement in Bangladesh as well. “Hindus in Bangladesh are not able to perform Durga Puja,” he said.

Hindu Mahasabha vice-president Jaiveer Bhardwaj said they would stick to their Gwalior bandh, till 1 pm, on Sunday in protest against the match.

"As a result of our protest, the Bangladesh team is confined between hotel and stadium (where they have been going for net practice)," he claimed in a statement.

The organisation has also asked business establishments in the city to remain shut on Sunday. Earlier, police had arrested some of its workers for protesting against the match.

Gwalior welcomes international cricket after 14 years

International cricket will return to Gwalior after a 14-year gap on Sunday but going forward the city will not have to wait that long to host high-profile matches as the newly built stadium will allow MPCA to stage games "alternatively" with Indore, the state association's president Abhilash Khandekar informed PTI on Saturday.

The state-of-the-art Shrimant Madhavrao Stadium was inaugurated in June and is the new home of big ticket cricket in the city replacing the deteriorating Captain Roop Singh Stadium, which is run by the local corporation.

Speaking to PTI ahead of the India-Bangladesh T20I, Khandekar said Gwalior is a city with a rich cricketing history and therefore deserved a world-class venue.

"The ICC and BCCI want an exclusive stadium for cricket and we have two now in Gwalior and Indore."

"Going forward, whenever MPCA is allotted matches by the BCCI, we would want to use Gwalior and Indore alternatively. Both are traditional venues with rich history of the game," said Khandekar.

The Holkar Stadium located in the heart of Indore has hosted international matches across formats including three Tests. Khandekar wants Gwalior to also a host a Test in the near future. Both the stadiums are owned by MPCA.

"We would surely want to host a Test here. The people of Gwalior would like to see that as well."

"The city is excited about the T20 and I hope we can have a red-ball game here soon," said Khandekar, who said tickets for the series opener are sold out with 30000 spectators expected on the match day.

Organising an international match in a smaller centre poses plenty of challenges but that is not a deterrent for Khandekar and his team.

"With the heavy rain in Gwalior there were a few challenges but we have overcome that. All the MPCA staff members working on the game are thorough professionals, they got here well in advance to prepare for the game," he added.

Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Stadium, build on the outskirts of the city, will make its international debut on Sunday. Organising an international match in a smaller centre does have its fair share of challenges but host MPCA is ready despite a few hiccups.

A wall on the periphery of the stadium had caved in last month following unusually heavy rains in the region but has been repaired.

Captain Roop Singh Stadium in the city had hosted Gwalior's last international match in 2010 when Sachin Tendulkar smashed a famous double hundred.