By IANS,
Mumbai : International Cricket Council (ICC) president Sharad Pawar Friday dismissed criticism that the Wankhede Stadium with its low 33,000 capacity was not the proper venue for the World Cup, saying Lord’s has an even lower capacity.
“If you look at Lord’s in England, it has a lower capacity of only 18,000. Here we have a sitting capacity of 32,000-33,000,” Pawar told mediapersons here.
“It is easy to say why we don’t have a bigger capacity, but it is not easy to get a piece of land for such a big stadium in a city like Mumbai.”
There has been much criticism of the Wankhede as a final venue in the media, as it was been compared with Eden Gardens that has a sitting capacity nearly double that of Mumbai. Critics have also pointed out that only 4,000 tickets could be sold to the public.
Pawar said the winner of Saturday’s final between India and Sri Lanka will be richer by $3 million, while the runners-up would get $1.55 million.