Tuesday’s warm-up game between England and India A, widely billed as Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s last hurrah as captain of the Blues, may be closed to the public. The match, first of the two warm-up matches to be played before England begins the limited overs series against India in Pune on January 15, is set to be hosted by the Cricket Club of India (CCI) at the historic Brabourne Stadium.
CCI officials had already received a communiqué from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that it had to make arrangements for the host broadcasters, who are going to televise the day-night encounter to cash in on Dhoni’s presence. Shortly after, The Hindu understands, the CCI committee received a call from the local police authorities with the demand for a payment of Rs. 60 lakh, their prescribed amount for providing security cover for an ODI or a T20 game.
Since the CCI is set to lose its full member status of the BCCI once the Supreme Court-appointed reforms are implemented and does not get a grant from the BCCI, the CCI forwarded the police authorities’ demand to the BCCI on Saturday.
The BCCI’s formal response will be conveyed to the club authorities on Monday.
In addition to the administrative logjam as a result of the recent Supreme Court orders regarding the functioning of the BCCI and its members, there are also simple logistics issues: the CCI cannot print tickets at short notice as it takes at least a couple of days for formalities to be completed before ticket sales can begin. Even if all these obstacles could be overcome, the club cannot charge more than Rs. 100–200, as the game is just a practice match, and therefore it is unlikely to get enough revenue to cover the cost of the police protection.
As a result, a BCCI insider told The Hindu , if the Mumbai Police don’t accede to the demand of lowering the fees — since it is only a practice match — for security cover, the club has been asked to be prepared to lock the gates and not allow in any spectators except for members of the club.
With the host broadcaster set to advertise on Monday about the match being Dhoni’s last as captain in the India Blues (although the team jersey will not sport the national team’s logo), his fans are likely to throng the stadium. If the gates are actually locked on Tuesday and they are not allowed in to enjoy the action, it could lead to security issues on the streets.
A similar scenario occurred during India’s warm-up match against South Africa ahead of the World Twenty20, at the Wankhede Stadium in March last year. With the Mumbai Cricket Association having printed only a limited number of tickets, the authorities eventually were forced to open the gates. Still, there were multiple incidents outside the gates once entry to the stands was blocked.
If you are a Dhoni fan wanting to cheer his last game, or just a cricket aficionado wanting to watch some international cricket action, it may be a safer option to enjoy the day’s play on television. Unless, of course, you are a CCI member.
