By Qaiser Mohammad Ali, IANS
New Delhi : Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Prasun Mukherjee Wednesday claimed that the Indian Premier League (IPL) match-ticket issue raised by the CAB’s constituent clubs has been “resolved”.
“So far as I am concerned the issue whether or not the IPL matches at the Eden Gardens would be held was resolved at the CAB special general body meeting (SGM) in Kolkata on Wednesday,” Mukherjee told IANS.
At the SGM, a majority of 121 CAB member associations agreed that lucrative IPL Twenty20 matches should be played at the Eden Gardens and also sought a bigger share of the IPL pie.
The 45-day IPL tournament starts April 18. The Kolkata franchise has been bought by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and others for $75.09 million.
Mukherjee said that the house authorised him to deal with the issue.
“There was only one agenda for the meeting; it was to decide whether or not IPL matches should be played at the Eden Gardens. It was decided that they will be played there,” he said by phone from Hyderabad.
“It [the house] reposed confidence in me as CAB president and authorised me to secure benefits for the CAB members. Only nitty-gritty is left to worked out and it’s totally up to me. After all, we have to provide the back-up to the franchise owners.”
Mukherjee said there was no urgency to talk to Red Chillies Entertainment, the company that owns the IPL Kolkata team.
“I am in Hyderabad and I will only be back in Kolkata after a few days. I think things will start moving only in the first week of March,” he said.
Former CAB president Jagmohan Dalmiya led the opposition demand for 70 percent of the IPL proceeds from ticket sales.
Mukherjee said the media coverage Wednesday made it look like it was a fight between him and Dalmiya.
“It [media coverage] created a wrong impression. It was not a referendum on me,” he said.
The 45-day tournament opens with a game between Bangalore and Kolkata at Bangalore’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium April 18.
The winning team will receive $3 million.