The Board of Control for Cricket in India has allowed only the upper tier and the hospitality boxes for sponsors and representatives for the first T20I against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens starting on Wednesday.

The Cricket Association of Bengal had requested the Board to grant permission to spectators, at least 75 per cent capacity. And it is hopeful of having some crowd for the remaining two T20Is.

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“CAB will intimate all stakeholders once it receives feedback from the Board,” Avishek Dalmiya, president, said in a statement.

Harpreet, Kuldeep surprise

The Indian cricket team checked in at the ground at 5 pm on Monday. Skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid inspected the surface before starting the training session.

Among other things, the presence of spin bowlers Harpreet Brar and Kuldeep Yadav raised a few eyebrows. Though not a part of the squad officially, they trained with the group.

Kuldeep, who was part of the ODI series, bowled in tandem alongside old friend Yuzvendra Chahal. Seam bowling all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer also bowled a few overs. Virat Kohli batted in full flow at the nets. He drove, cut and even missed a few tricky ones from Kuldeep. Kohli batted in all three nets, including the one beside the main wicket after Rohit finished his drills. Youngsters Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan batted for a long time in the adjacent nets.

There are speculations that spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar is carrying a hamstring injury, and could be ruled out of the T20I series. However, there has been no official word from the BCCI.  Sundar was bought for Rs 8.75 crore by Sunrisers Hyderabad at the IPL auction this weekend.