International Cricket Council chief executive Haroon Lorgat said it was still premature to decide on whether Ferozeshah Kotla will be banned from hosting World Cup matches. Sharad Pawar, ICC vice-president and chairman of the World Cup central organising committee, said a report is expected in one or two weeks.
“It is premature to speculate on whether Kotla would be banned as there is a process in place. The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) has sent their response and the ICC is examining it.
ICC chief match referee Ranjan Madagulle and cricket operations manager David Richardson give their opinion before a final decision is taken. So it is premature to speculate on the matter,” Lorgat said.
Asked for his opinion on the matter, Pawar said: “I am not going to give any opinion. The ICC is yet to take a final decision.
The BCCI is expecting a response probably in a week or two.” The reaction comes just a day after ICC president David Morgan said he was not in favour of shifting matches out of the capital city of India.
The panel, which also included tournament director Ratnakar Shetty and the Bangladesh Cricket Board president AHM Mustafa Kamal believed the tri-series was no benchmark to treat the crowd response.
{{/usCountry}}The panel, which also included tournament director Ratnakar Shetty and the Bangladesh Cricket Board president AHM Mustafa Kamal believed the tri-series was no benchmark to treat the crowd response.
{{/usCountry}}The three hosts nations are playing here but for some reason, which no one has been able to pin point the crowds have stayed away from the Sher-e Bangla National Stadium.
“It would be unfair to compare the crowd response at a tri-series to that of a World Cup match. We will have a lot of fans travelling and the local fans as well. It is the biggest cricketing event in the sub-continent and I am sure the way the preparations have been going on it will be a hugely successful event. India and Sri Lanka have the prior experience of hosting the World Cup and it will be a great event,” Lorgat said.
Lorgat said that the committee has taken a decision to make the ticket prices affordable to the public.
“The revenue earned from the gates would go the respective boards but our aim would be to keep the ticket prices as affordable as possible.
All the boards will have different ticket price policies. But the pricing will be done in such a way that spectators come to the stadium.”