DDCA may lose World T20 semifinal, IPL matches

Ferozshah Kotla
With IPL matches a good 40 days away, the immediate headache for DDCA is to somehow host the semifinal, which could feature Pakistan if they make it that far.

The ongoing ICC WorldT20 has brought cheers to many across the country but for two of the North Zone centres — Dharamshala and Delhi — it has been a cause of concern.

Dharamshala became first casualty after losing the high voltage India-Pakistan game three days ago and stripped off all the Indian Premier League matches for the Season IX. It appears like the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) could well meet the similar fate.

dna has reliably learnt that the International Cricket Council (ICC) has been contemplating moving the first semi-final (March 30) of the WorldT20 out of national Capital. This has come after Delhi's own franchisee GMR (owner of Delhi Daredevils) has already apprised local cricket administrators that "it may play all its matches in some other venue after Hon'ble High Court has ordered sealing of Old Club House at Ferozeshah Kotla premises".

With IPL matches a good 40 days away, the immediate headache for DDCA is to somehow host the semifinal, which could feature Pakistan if they make it that far. Having been forced to move Pakistan's match out of Dharamshala for security reasons, if ICC decide to abandon Delhi, it would again have to ensure that Pakistan, too, does not object to the new venue.

For the record, DDCA's in-charge for conducting games Justice Mukul Mudgal has refused to entertain ICC's demand of utilising disputed Old Pavilion House in the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium for any purpose of 'seating or branding' during any of the WorldT20 games.

In an emergency meeting called by ICC chief executive Dave Richardson on Friday, Justice Mudgal was categorical in his reply that "every step would be taken as per the orders of the Hon'ble High Court".

The Old Pavilion House in DDCA has designated VIP area and also has high-priced seats numbering around 2,500. HC order states that only 'media box' and 'broadcast area' can be used during the WC matches, but the entire building will be sealed during the IPL matches.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) representative in the meeting also slammed the DDCA for misrepresenting facts during the Tour and Fixture Committee meeting where the matches were allotted to Delhi.

"We're not told that DDCA was to get lot of clearances from various agencies, failing which this sort of situation could arise," said the BCCI official citing the commitment given by DDCA's representative Manjit Singh last year.

A DDCA insider said, "ICC was concerned about losing that many seats and also losing money because no branding could be done at one end. This may result in huge losses during the tournament." The meeting was also attended by WC Tournament director Dr MV Sridhar apart from others. As the said area falls under Archaeological Survey of India, Justice Mudgal told all the parties that "any direction in this regard should come either from ASI or the Court".

It is not just losing seats but also the fact that as per HC orders entire premium seats will have to be covered with black clothing. "ICC argument is that since a lot of down the ground shots will be hit, black clothing will make both broadcasters and sponsors wary. It is considered to be an eye sore," ICC told Justice Mudgal.

Ferozeshah Kotla will host first men's game on March 23, while women's matches are scheduled to begin from March 15 with a clash between New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

IPL concern too

The ongoing internal war of DDCA has already cost the local cricket a lot. And if GMR also take decision in coming days to shift Delhi Daredevils base camp from Delhi to some other place (most likely Raipur in Chhattisgarh), the association would not just lose credibility but crores of rupees which it was to get for hosting home games.

"Look, the loss of T20 WC semifinal or all IPL games will break DDCA's back. One has to understand that corruption and mismanagement has already crippled DDCA for last one year. It's high time that Hon'ble High Court appoints an administrator to run the day-to-day affairs in DDCA till the new elections are held," said DDCA senior member Sameer Bahadur.

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