The CoA Restrains The BCCI From Buying Match Tickets For VIPs

The Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) and the BCCI continue to remain at loggerheads. Recently the CoA has restrained the BCCI from purchasing match tickets of the IPL to distribute them as free passes to VIPs.

Previously, during the 2016 World T20 the former BCCI president Anurag Thakur?bought tickets worth Rs 76 lakh for VIPs, to distribute them as complimentary passes, when quizzed about the details of distribution, the former BCCI top boss failed in providing the same stating that?the laptop containing the details was lost. This move by the CoA has come as a repercussion to this fiasco.

In an interview with the Hindustan Times?Vinod Rai the?head of?Committee of Administrators (CoA) confirmed the decision;

?I had only said that BCCI will not buy tickets to give them on a complimentary basis to officials or VIPs, that was the reason. The office of the former president bought Rs 76 lakh worth of tickets and distributed them as complimentary. When the auditors asked (them) to whom, they claim(ed) the laptop containing details was lost. The amount remains outstanding. Hence my embargo? said Rai, as quoted by the Hindustan Times.

As per the rules, the BCCI is entitled to 5% of the tickets which are exclusively reserved for it, while the state bodies have 15% of the tickets reserved for them. However the IPL being a high profile tournament, includes a lot of commitments as the sponsors and franchise owners, along with other stakeholders are entitled to their share of match passes of the reserved 5%. This leaves only a few tickets for the BCCI to fascinate other groups.

In a conversation with the Hindustan Times, IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla expressed his views stating that in cases of high demands the 5% quota does not suffice and so a provision was made for the BCCI to purchase to meet their obligations.

The expenditure to buy these complimentary tickets run into crores every year. Such a move will block some unnecessary out flow from the BCCI. And for now the BCCI and the state bodies will have to adjust to each others’ quota.