IPL 2016: Good-bye to historical manual scoreboard at Green Park

Kanpur: Green Park stadium stores India’s only and globally second manual Cricket scoreboard. This scoreboard has witnessed several historical matches. But the current glamour of Cricket is taking an edge over this historical scoreboard.

This is for the first time that Indian Premium League (IPL) matches will be played at Green Park. Kanpur will host the remaining two IPL matches of Gujarat Lions on May 19 and 21. But in these two high-voltage matches, manual scoreboard will be missed.

This will be for the first time since 1957 that teams will play their matches in the absence of historical manual scoreboard.

History of manual scoreboard-

• The scoreboard was made by then UPCA chairman SM Bashir in 1957-58.
• Few people know that the whole design and mechanism was made by Jagjit Singh, whose son Harcharan Singh is taking full care of the score board in the present time.

Harcharan said-

• Green Park will host two IPL matches on May 19 and 21.
• In these two games, manual scoreboard will not be used.
• This will happen after 59 years that Green Park will witness any match without this historical scoreboard.
• UPCA has not informed about any reason behind the following, but I’m unhappy with the absence of manual scoreboard in these two IPL games.
• This will be for the first time that Green Park will host any day-night match.
• Our team was very happy after we came to know that Green Park will host the remaining two matches of Gujarat Lions.
• For the day-night match, manual score card would have been prepared by different kinds. From lighting to colours of the plates, everything would have been different.
• During night hours of the game, the modified score card would have gathered viewer’s attention more towards them. But, no such thing is possible now.

Making of manual scoreboard-

• As per Harcharan Singh, then UPCA chairman SM Bashir was also the director of Iron Steel and his father was a contractor.
• Once Bashir went Melbourne for watching a match. While watching match, he was impressed with the manual scoreboard.
• After coming back to India, he desired of making the same scoreboard.
• His thinking had been come into existence by Jagjit Singh.
• Without having any engineering degree, he erected a marvelous manual scoreboard.