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With BCCI opting for Ahmedabad over Bangalore for the IPL final, it has come to light that the Indian board was offered only five thousand tickets as the requirement of the Karnataka State Cricket Association was close to thirty thousand in a stadium with a capacity of thirty-five thousand. With the obligation to distribute a huge chunk of tickets to Karnataka MLAs, the BCCI was left with no option but to award the match to Ahmedabad.
It has become an issue with KSCA not getting the IPL play-off games by the virtue of the Royal Challengers Bangalore being the defending champions. Out of four play-off games, two generally go to the previous year’s champions while the remaining are hosted by the runners-up.
Sources said that a written communication was sent to the KSCA before the decision to move the final was taken. “But KSCA’s requirement was huge and these play-off matches are BCCI events. If the board itself isn’t getting enough passes, how can the final be conducted in Bangalore?” a source said.
Meanwhile, the KSCA is yet to come to terms with the rejection and wasn’t sure whether the number of tickets offered to the BCCI was the real reason behind Bangalore missing out on the play-off matches.
Sources also said that Dharamshala got the first qualifier for logistical reasons, while Chandigarh was awarded the Eliminator and second qualifier by virtue of being last year’s runners-up venue. Sources added that both Chennai and Mumbai were also in the fray, but the sheer capacity of the Narendra Modi Stadium ultimately tilted the balance in Ahmedabad’s favour.
With the BCCI committed to making more tickets available for fans, Ahmedabad also emerged as the preferred choice because it will host the ICC meeting around the same period. That means a large number of guests from the BCCI and other stakeholders, including state association officials, can be accommodated more comfortably when an IPL final is held at a stadium with a capacity of over one lakh spectators.
