Visakhapatnam in the grip of World Cup fever

The twelvemonth 2025 was afloat of unexpected surprises for cricket enthusiasts successful North Andhra, peculiarly successful Visakhapatnam. It was during Sankranthi this year, the newly-appointed assemblage of the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) announced that the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Capitals had expressed involvement successful making Vizag their authoritative 2nd home.

Determined not to miss the opportunity, the ACA has begun renovating the two-decade aged Dr YSR ACA VDCA stadium with a fund of ₹40 crore, giving it a marque caller look. The results were contiguous and impressive. Visakhapatnam was awarded 2 IPL matches featuring the Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Supergiants, Sunrisers Hyderabad, giving section fans a accidental to witnesser cricketing stars similar Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Travis Head, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant successful enactment connected location ground.

The electrifying matches and top-tier facilities drew the attraction of apical cricketing dignitaries, including ICC Chairman Jay Shah, BCCI officials, and different stalwarts of the sport. Riding connected the occurrence of this hosting, Vizag earned the accidental of being named 1 of the 5 big cities for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025.

“It is an honour to beryllium 1 of the 5 hosts of the satellite cup. The enactment from ICC Chairman Jay Shah, BCCI officials was unwavering. All arrangements were enactment successful spot for the prestigious tournament. We person created champion facilities for the players,” says ACA Secretary, Sana Satish. 

Though Visakhapatnam has ne'er hosted a Women’s World Cup lucifer before, it did big a Men’s ICC World Cup lucifer betwixt Australia and Kenya successful 1996, successful which Australia defeated Kenya by 97 runs. The past Women’s World Cup lucifer hosted successful undivided Andhra Pradesh was successful 1997 astatine the Indira Gandhi Stadium successful Vijayawada, betwixt England and Pakistan, successful which England defeated Pakistan by 230 runs. 

So, aft 29 years, Visakhapatnam has been fixed the accidental to big 5 matches of the tournament, which see 2 matches of Team India. India played South Africa connected October 9, followed by a marquee lucifer against Australia connected October 12. The remaining 3 matches are South Africa vs Bangladesh connected October 13, Australia vs Bangladesh connected October 16 and England vs New Zealand connected October 26. Apart from the lucifer betwixt England and New Zealand, the remaining matches are Day & Night. 

Meeting their favourites

The World Cup fever really began during August successful the city, erstwhile the Indian Women’s Cricket Team arrived for a week-long grooming campy astatine the Dr YSR ACA-VDCA Stadium. Fans utilized to stitchery successful ample numbers extracurricular the team’s edifice successful Rushikonda each day, hoping to drawback a glimpse of their favourite players and instrumentality photos arsenic they headed to practice. Adding to the buzz, IT Minister Nara Lokesh participated successful a affable enactment with the cricketers that was warmly received by the public. 

The momentum continued with the World Cup Trophy Tour organised by the BCCI, which saw the trophy displayed astatine salient tourer spots crossed the city, including RK Beach, Kailasagiri, and Rushikonda. Cricket fans thronged these locations for a accidental to spot the trophy up adjacent and instrumentality selfies with it, galore witnessing it for the archetypal time. 

Under the enactment of ACA President Kesineni Sivanath (Chinni) and Secretary Sana Satish, the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) has near nary chromatic unturned successful preparing the venue. Welcome boards person been installed astatine the stadium, and groundsmen are moving diligently to springiness the transportation and outfield last touches. The lucifer connected October 9 marked the first-ever World Cup fixture astatine the stadium nether its recently installed LED floodlights. 

In a peculiar inaugural by the ACA and the Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association (VDCA), miss students from assorted schools and colleges crossed the metropolis were invited to witnesser the historical lucifer live. As an added honour, respective of them volition besides get the accidental to beryllium contiguous with the players during the nationalist anthems. To guarantee the tickets are disposable astatine affordable prices, the ACA has fixed a starting terms of ₹100 for each the matches, portion it is ₹150 for the marquee lucifer betwixt India and Australia connected October 12. 

“We ne'er had a accidental to witnesser a World Cup lucifer live, truthful this is simply a immense opportunity. It is not conscionable astir watching India, we volition besides get to spot apical planetary teams similar Australia, Bangladesh, England, New Zealand, and South Africa,” says P Ashwini, a pupil and cricket instrumentality from Gayatri College for Women. She adds that she is particularly excited to spot Indian stars Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Jemimah Rodrigues successful action. 

V Amulya, a B Tech pupil from Dr L Bullayya College, shars her enthusiasm for 1 lucifer successful particular. “I americium excited for the India vs Australia game. India and Australia ne'er disappoint, particularly successful World Cup clashes. The caller bid betwixt them was intense, but India mislaid the decider, but present it’s clip for a beardown comeback” 

Ahead of the marquee lucifer betwixt India-Australia, the ACA volition inaugurate the Mithali Raj Stand and the Raavi Kalpana basal astatine the Dr YSR ACA-VDCA Cricket stadium connected October 12. This is said to beryllium the marking a first-of-its-kind tribute to women cricketers astatine the stadium. 

The determination was taken aft Indian Vice Captain Smriti Mandhana highlighted the lack of stadium stands named aft starring Indian women cricketers, and expressed that renaming stands based connected women cricketers would honour their contribution, isolated from inspiring the adjacent procreation of women to participate cricket arsenic a profession. Acting connected Mandhana’s appeal, Nara Lokesh instantly consulted the ACA, starring to a punctual solution to honour women’s cricket icons by naming stands aft them astatine the Vizag venue. 

“It volition beryllium different feather successful the headdress for the Vizag. During  2016, Vizag hosted an ODI betwixt India and New Zealand, wherever Indian players including the past skipper MS Dhoni and stars similar Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma wore jerseys bearing their mothers’ names, paying tribute to the relation of mothers successful their lives,” says a elder authoritative from the ACA, adding: “Now, with stadium stands being named aft women cricketers, Vizag volition erstwhile again make a lasting memory,”