Hyderabad, Nov. 9: The last Test played in Hyderabad was staged at the multi-purpose state-owned Lal Bahadur Stadium, which, despite being located in the heart of the city, has its own drawbacks when it comes to facilities for spectators, officials and the players alike. The sub-standard conditions annoyed match referees so much that one of them submitted a report to the ICC asking it to drop Hyderabad as an international venue.

Twenty two years on, the state-of-the-art Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal will host the highest grade of cricket when the second Test between India and New Zealand gets underway on Friday.

The Hyderabad Cricket Association has had a rough ride in its effort to construct its own stadium, and Shivlal Yadav has been the driving force. “It has been a long journey with a lot of ups and downs,” Shivlal, current HCA as well as BCCI vice-president sighed.

“When we bought the land, it was a different kind of feeling, after laying the foundation stone, the satisfaction was of a different level. Once we completed one particular stand the happiness only doubled. Now, it’s ecstasy,” he told this newspaper.

“When the first ball will be bowled, I’ll be bowled over,” he said. Thrice over if that happens from the Shivlal Yadav pavilion end? (Laughs). “I can only request both the captains and leave the rest to them.”

Well, Shivlal will surely have a ball but there have been worrying times too. “To raise enormous funds was not easy. That is one of the reasons why we took so much time to complete the stadium. We had to repay a Rs 15 crore loan. But now I can proudly say that HCA is a debt-free body with a fantastic monument,” the former Indian off-spinner said.

The roofs at the North and South blocks are pending but Shivlal assures “they will be completed soon.”

Shivlal admits match referee Ranjan Madugalle’s damning report on the poor facilities at the Lal Bahadur Stadium (in mid 1990s) was embarrassingly frustrating. “It was shattering to have cut a sorry figure in front of Ranjan, with whom I’ve played international cricket. That made us more determined to build our own stadium,” he said.

“We toiled hard to build a world class stadium and won back the Test status after an ICC inspection.”

Speaking about the roots, Shivlal said: “When I retired from first class cricket, I decided to get into administration and contribute to the game. I joined the HCA executive committee. Two years later, I got elected as joint secretary and learnt the ropes for eight years under (secretary) Ranga Reddy. In 2000 I became the secretary. All this while, we had been trying to get land from the government for the Association to build a stadium. It was quite a challenge with several obstacles in the way. Somehow we succeeded in securing the 24 acres of land during the Telugu Desam regime after getting a host of clearances, including some from the High Court. Former MLA Devender Goud and the then industries minister Vidyadhar Rao also helped us a lot.”

But that was only the beginning. The ground breaking ceremony was stalled as the HCA learnt that a textile company which it thought owned the adjoining area, had mortgaged the land to a bank, which moved the Supreme Court. “The HCA had to cough up `2 crore to arrive at a settlement,” Shivlal informs.

The HCA then began building the stadium from a scratch. “Now, with my ambition fulfilled, I am gradually on my way out,” Shivlal said.