The second and the final test between India and New Zealand will be played in the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The match is scheduled to start from December 03.
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The Maharashtra government on Saturday issued an order which stated that only 25% of the crowd capacity will be allowed.
The stadium has a total capacity of 33,000. It is now expected that not more than 8500 spectators will be allowed to enter the stadium.
The order also states that all the players, officials and spectators have to be fully vaccinated to arrive to the venue. The spectators need to wear mask at all times and maintain proper social distancing from one another and are not allowed to spit.
“As per the general order of the Maharashtra government signed by the chief secretary, 25 percent crowd is allowed for the Wankhede Test as of now. MCA is still hopeful that they may give us 50 percent crowd permission,” an official said.
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However, an MCA official said that they are trying to push the capacity to atleast 50%. The news is a huge disappointment as cricket fans were expecting to watch the match live from the stadium. The stadium will witness an international test match after five years.
The last time a test match was played in the iconic stadium was way back in December 2016 against England.
Though the number of the cases of Covid-19 have been decreasing in the country but the government is cautious about the new variant of Covid-19 named ‘Omicron’ which has been detected in South Africa.
“Keeping in mind that the new covid variant from South Africa is spreading rapidly in other countries, the Maharashtra government is treading cautiously when it comes to crowded gatherings. I think that the chief minister, despite himself being hospitalised and the threat of covid still not over, has been gracious to allow the MCA 25% crowd capacity for this Test match in the interest of cricket lovers of Mumbai,” Milind Narvekar the PA to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, and the chairman of the Mumbai Cricket Association T20 governing council said.
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