Hindustan Times
Did you buy a ticket to the Kolkata ODI?
At a time when administrators are under the scanner for the manner in which they are promoting cricket, a strange thing happened in Kolkata that almost went unnoticed.Jagmohan Dalmiya, a man many love to hate, showed just how much he cared about the cricket-loving public in Kolkata. For a few years now Dalmiya has claimed to fight the good fight for Kolkata’s public, railing against a BCCI administration that denied the Eden Gardens its due because of a petty fight with its ruler.
What happened during Thursday’s Kolkata ODI –and I’m not even going to begin on the failure of floodlights – was a stark reminder that Dalmiya continues to worry only about keeping his constituency happy, even if it means denying the public their due. How else can you explain the fact that the Cricket Association of Bengal staged a One-Day International without making even a single ticket available to paying public?
The justifications are manifold, but the facts are simple.
India’s largest ground normally accommodates 90,000. But because Eden will play host to several World Cup games in 2011, structural changes are required for the ground to meet minimum standards. This has meant that many stands have been torn down, reducing the capacity for the fourth ODI between Sri Lanka and India to 40,000. This was something the CAB and Dalmiya knew well in advance of being allotted this match.
Yet they went ahead with staging the game, knowing full well that the reduced capacity would mean they would have no tickets to offer on sale to the public once they’d handed out their usual share of freebies. Approximately 30,000 tickets went to members and clubs affiliated to the Cricket Association of Bengal.
While many grounds in India face the problem of accomodating their members, what’s unique about Kolkata is that the number of freebies is as large as 30,000. However, during IPL matches, also governed by the BCCI, a compromise was achieved, wherein patrons were accomodated even as team owners were given the majority of seats to deal with as they pleased.
Even in the normal course, the CAB only makes tickets available to the public when their members and affiliates choose not to avail their full quota.
Given the unique circumstances of reduced capacity, the CAB could always have compensated members by (reducing annual fees, offering discounted tickets for future matches, or something similar), but they chose instead to deny the cricket-crazy populace of Kolkata the chance to buy a ticket and watch the game.
In the last few years, cricket administrators from Kolkata, led by Dalmiya, have constantly complained about the fact that the Eden Gardens was not getting enough matches. They have alleged conspiracy theories, an abuse of the rotation system in allotting venues, and much else.
When they finally got a match, however, they ensured that the public – whose very case they claimed to fight – was kept out. Just how can anyone top this?
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