Uncertainty Over India-West Indies ODI In Mumbai Due To Complimentary Passes

The fourth One-Day International between India and Mumbai scheduled to be played in Mumbai could shift to another venue due to the confusion surrounding the complimentary passes.

The tussle between the BCCI and the state bodies over the complimentary passes just keeps on getting dragged. The cricket associations of Madhya Pradesh, Bengal and Tamil Nadu have already made it clear that they would not accept the BCCI’s new rule regarding the complimentary passes.

Recently, the second ODI between India and West Indies was shifted to Visakhapatnam from Indore due to the same reason. The BCCI had to take the decision due to its tussle with the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) over complimentary tickets.

Under the new constitution of the BCCI, which has been approved by the Supreme Court, only 10% of tickets for each category can be distributed as complimentary.

However, the state bodies are not very impressed with it. And now Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) is also not ready to accept the new rule.

“We haven’t taken any decision so far. But 600 tickets just won’t be enough for us. We need 7,000 tickets because we need to give them to all our (330) club members, donors, government of Maharashtra, police, fire brigade, sports department, PWD,” an MCA source told The Times of India.

MCA are also without a head which can make things worse for them. The term of the two-member Committee of Administrators’ (CoA) comprising retired judges Hemant Gokhale and VM Kanade ended on September 15. Not surprisingly, an air of confusion is lingering over the association.

The absence of a head is also affecting the association’s daily work.

“There’s no authorised signatory to sign cheques on behalf of the MCA. So we haven’t been able to pay salaries to our staff for the last month. Since we can’t operate our bank account, we couldn’t even clear the bill of the Mumbai team.

“We had to request the BCCI to clear the bill. We have to pay property tax and the electricity bill too. When we host an international match, we have to float tenders for in-stadia advertisements, generator sets, and so many other things. There are so many payments to be done to various agencies. Who will sign the cheques now?” said an MCA official.

The official, however, said that it is still premature to say that the match is under threat.

“We are ready to approach the Supreme Court by Thursday. It’s too early to say if the match is really under threat,” he said.

Meanwhile, both the teams are currently playing the two-match Test series. After the Tests, the ODIs will get underway from October 21. Guwahati will host the series-opener before the two teams will take on each other at Indore (October 24), Pune (October 27), Mumbai (October 29) and Thiruvananthapuram (November 1).

The T20Is will be held in Kolkata (November 4), Lucknow (November 6) and Chennai (November 11).

West Indies Tour of India 2018, ODI Matches:

First ODI – October 21, Guwahati

Second ODI – October 24, Indore

Third ODI – October 27, Pune

Fourth ODI – October 29, Mumbai

Fifth ODI – November 1, Thiruvananthapuram