The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) wanted Eden Gardens to dress up with a new look for the World Cup and has laboured hard to get the venue ready before it hosts its first game of the mega event.

It’s not a completely renovated Eden yet, with a little bit of fine-tuning here and there still remaining. But make no mistake, the venue, especially the B.C. Roy Club House premises and some of the blocks, do give the impression that the Eden will be hosting cricket’s greatest show on earth with some grandeur.

Entering through the CAB’s main gate, the refurbished staircase will take one to the first floor of the Club House and while taking the stairs, one gets to notice the framed illuminated photographs of the India team which triumphed in the 2011 World Cup, the Allan Border-led Australia with the Cup after beating England in the 1987 final at the Eden itself and Imran Khan holding aloft the trophy after Pakistan’s victory in 1992, amongst others.

Before going up to the first floor, one can also turn extreme left to catch a glimpse of ‘Eden’s Nostalgia’.

That’s a section on the wall with a collage of some memorable moments at the iconic venue featuring not just famous past cricketers, but even eminent personalities from other fields, like former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who was present during the CAB’s golden jubilee celebrations in 1981, and Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan during a charity match more than four decades ago.

Going extreme right, one will come across ‘Sweet Memories of Eden Gardens’, another collage featuring mainly some former India and Pakistan captains present at the venue.

A vibrant vertical garden, a special kind of urban gardening done particularly for decorating walls and roofs in various styles, at one of the walls of block ‘L’ at the Eden. Sayak Banerjee

Up on the first and second floors, the newly put-up chandeliers give the entire area a glittering look. Outside the renovated VVIP conference/dining room, illuminated photographs of the memorable India-Bangladesh pink-ball Test in November 2019 — also the country’s first day-night Test ever — adorn one of the walls.

On the way up to the media centre, one gets greeted by ‘Legacies of Eden Gardens’, another collage featuring former chief minister Jyoti Basu and the legend Nelson Mandela during South Africa’s first-ever appearance (against India) that marked their return to international cricket in the post-apartheid era, former India captain and ex-BCCI president Sourav Ganguly with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and chief minister Mamata Banerjee before the start of the pink-ball Test and Pele appearing for Cosmos against Mohun Bagan amongst others.

“We wanted to give the Club House a museum-like feel. Since it’s a special tournament like the World Cup, so our goal was to deck Eden Gardens up and make it look as special as possible.

“We believe everyone will like it and have a good time here,” CAB secretary Naresh Ojha told The Telegraph on Monday.

That is not all though. At blocks ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘K’ and ‘L’, one will come across vertical garden, a special kind of urban gardening suitable for small spaces, particularly for decorating walls and roofs in various styles.

Near the curator’s room, a temporary two-storied structure is being set up and that will constitute a couple of corporate boxes and as many studios.

“The corporate boxes could be for army officials,” a senior CAB official said.

Special programmes have also been planned for the India-South Africa game on November 5 and the second semi-final on November 16. “Ahead of the India-South Africa clash, there could be a laser show, but things haven’t been finalised yet for the semi-final clash,” a CAB insider said.

Ticket puzzle

Owing to the instruction of the International Cricket Council, the CAB, it is learnt, has had to cut down as much as 42 per cent of the ticket distribution. This implies there’s a possibility of life, annual and associate members not getting their share of tickets for the five World Cup games the Eden is scheduled to host.

“We’ll have an apex body meeting in a day or two. We’ll try to find a way out so that the members get their share (of tickets) as it used to be in the past,” another CAB official stated.