The Supreme Court has put a cap on complimentary passes so that the paying public get a larger chunk of the seats.
To solve the complimentary passes fiasco – wherein state associations wanted to give away more than the 10 per cent cap of the stadium capacity – the Committee of Administrators (CoA) has decided to reduce the BCCI’s share of complimentary tickets to half – from 1,200 to 604. The Committee also clarified that membership tickets will not come under the 10 per cent, specified in the new cricket board constitution. But even the rejigged arrangement is unlikely to cut any ice with some of the state associations, scheduled to host India-West Indies matches during the ongoing home series. The new BCCI constitution restricts the distribution of complimentary tickets to 10 per cent, while the rest 90 per cent will have to be put on public sale by the staging associations.
The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) has reiterated that it can host the third T20 international on November 11 only by sticking to its old/conventional order, with regard to the distribution of complimentary passes and tickets on preferential basis. The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), too, is not agreeable to any compromise, with Eden Gardens scheduled to host the first T20 international on November 4.
The CoA meeting in Delhi on Saturday decided that extra 600 complimentary tickets would be given to the staging centres from the BCCI’s share. “Membership tickets are paid tickets, those are not complimentary tickets. Secondly, some (BCCI) AGM had decided long time back that so many tickets would be given to the BCCI. We have kept the BCCI’s share of complimentary tickets to only what is our contractual obligation,” CoA head Vinod Rai told The Sunday Express.
The CoA has also sent a missive to the state associations, saying: “In the spirit of the mandate of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the Committee of Administrators has decided to limit the BCCI’s requirement for sponsor and other free allotments as much as possible from 1200 to 604, so that the number of complimentary tickets available to the hosting State Association is maximised.”
As part of their contracts with the BCCI, Star India (host broadcaster) and Paytm (title sponsor) are entitled to get a certain number of complimentary tickets. This is the cricket board’s contractual obligation. The CoA decided to cut the BCCI’s share to that only.
TNCA secretary R Palani, however, said the association’s requirements for complimentary tickets should be fully met. “Whatever it is, our requirements should be fully met. Otherwise it’s not possible for us to conduct (the match),” he told The Sunday Express, adding that the rejigged structure is “not at all” meeting the state association’s requirements.
“We need tickets also to be sold at preferential basis. There are a lot of tickets to be sold to our members, to the adjacent club (Madras Cricket Club) – so there are a lot of things. So, I don’t think it’s possible unless (we do) what we have been doing over the years. Until that, it’s not possible. We will be writing an email (to the CoA) on Monday or Tuesday. What our executive committee has decided, I will only go by it. I cannot manipulate anything.”
As reported earlier, the TNCA will have to give about 1,400 tickets to the Madras Cricket Club – jointly in charge of Chepauk – and a further 4,500 tickets to the state association club members on a preferential basis (at concessional rates). The seating capacity of the stadium is now less than 24,000, with three stands unavailable. The CAB, too, has decided to stick to its own formula. According to a state association insider, old associations like the CAB or the TNCA has certain obligations that “can’t be tinkered with”. Incidentally, the CAB has 18,000 members, entitled to match tickets, along with a further around 10,000 complimentary passes to be distributed to different quarters, including the government agencies. The Eden Gardens’ capacity is a little over 66,000.
So even after the change, the big state bodies are digging in their heels. How does the CoA get around that?
“We have shared the email with all of them. The BCCI’s quota has been cut to the bone. Now it’s entirely between the state associations and their commitment to the Supreme Court – whether they want to conduct it or not conduct it. As simple as that. I have always said we have back-ups. We have state associations who are willing to do it (host the matches).
“If they don’t want to do it (host matches) on these terms, they will tell the Supreme Court (they want to stick to their old formula). See, we cannot hold the game against the Supreme Court direction. Our hands are already tied. This 10 per cent is not a restriction imposed by the CoA. This is imposed by the Supreme Court,” Rai said.
The CoA has made it clear that no centre can host the match by “subverting” the rules. If an association is not agreeable to the new formula, it can’t stage the match. The game, then, will be shifted to an alternate venue, like Vizag has become Indore’s replacement for the second ODI on October 24.