Published: Oct 04, 2018, 09:31 AM (IST)
Edited: Oct 04, 2018, 09:31 AM (IST)
After reports emerged of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Sourav Ganguly siding with Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association’s (MPCA) stance on ticket allocations, the former captain has clarified that Eden Gardens will host the first T20I between India and West Indies as scheduled.
The BCCI on Wednesday announced that the second T20I between India and West Indies has been shifted to Visakhapatnam from Holkar due to an ongoing tussle between the board and MPCA over the issue of complimentary tickets.
“The match is on. Tickets have already gone for printing and now nothing can be done. It will stay as it is,” Ganguly said on Wednesday.
Earlier, Ganguly has said that CAB will not compromise on the distribution of complimentary tickets. As per the new BCCI constitution, 90 percent of the tickets is reserved for the public, while the remaining 10 percent is availed to the state association for its usage.
The issue began with an agreement where 1,300 tickets of the pavilion block of the Holkar Stadium in Indore were demanded for sponsors and other related parties for the match. However, MPCA raised questions about the number as the capacity of the stadium is around 27,000, including 7,200 seats of the South Pavilion Block.
“We will have to give the complimentary tickets which we have been giving. We cannot compromise on that. And I completely understand the problems faced by Indore/MPCA and I’m totally with them, because the practical problems are never understood. Their claim is completely legitimate,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
“I cannot go and ask the government agencies, bureaucrats – people who make the match happen – to collect tickets and pay,” Ganguly had said. “I don’t know what they (BCCI) will do. If they want (to take the game away), they can. But we are not going to compromise.
“We give around 10,000 complimentary tickets to the sports department, government agencies – Kolkata Police, Kolkata Corporation, Fire Brigade etc. Else, the sports department will not stamp the tickets. These people make the game happen.”
