NWE DELHI: The fourth ODI of the series between India and West Indies has been moved from Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium down the road to the Cricket Club of India (CCI), the BCCI announced on Friday.
The match, scheduled for October 29, had initially been allocated to the Mumbai Cricket Association’s (MCA) Wankhede Stadium, but the Committee of Administrators that is overseeing the BCCI took the decision to move the game to the CCI’s Brabourne Stadium due to administrative issues at the MCA.
According to Vinod Rai, the chairman of the CoA although the MCA was “keen” to host the match, extraneous reasons forced the shift. The MCA was being governed by its own CoA, but their term had ended on September 15. Rai pointed out that subsequently, the MCA had not “legally authorised” a working group to oversee its functioning once its CoA vacated office. On Thursday, the MCA was told by the Supreme Court to wait for further directions till the October 25, which is four days before the ODI.
Waiting that long was cutting too fine, Rai pointed out. “The MCA was wanting to host the match. They are very keen to do it,” Rai said. “But they also feel that they do not have the legal authority to enter into contracts with various agencies that facilitate the conduct of a match.”
Rai said that logistically, it was easy to move the match to Brabourne, which is some 500 metres from Wankhede.
Rai also pointed out the dispute revolving around the complimentary tickets which resulted in the second ODI moved out of Indore, has been resolved. According to Rai all the state associations hosting ODI and T20I matches against West Indies on this tour have agreed to sign the host agreement and have given it in writing.
After the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association opted not to host the Indore ODI, the issue escalated swiftly with the Cricket Association of Bengal (that runs Eden Gardens) and the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (that runs Chepauk) being initially vehemently opposed to the reduction in the number of complimentary tickets. It is not clear why both CAB and TNCA reversed their stance, but one factor is understood to be the firm decision of the BCCI to not succumb to pressure and instead keep alternate venues ready. Kolkata will host the first T20I on November 4, while Chennai will host the third and final T20I on November 11.
The venues for the five ODIs will now be Guwahati, Visakhapatnam, Pune, Mumbai (CCI) and Thiruvananthapuram.
