The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) ticket controversy ahead of the India-England ICC World Cup match on February 27 that saw crowds being lathi-charged has now taken on a new dimension.
The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) ticket controversy ahead of the India-England ICC World Cup match on February 27 that saw crowds being lathi-charged is now drawing former India skipper Rahul Dravid and 1983-World Cup-winning champion Roger Binny into its vortex.
Congress MLA PM Ashok has alleged that Dravid and Binny, besides other office bearers of Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) were among those close to KSCA president Anil Kumble who accepted bulk tickets which found their way to the black market.
Besides Dravid and Binny, the MLA has also named former India player Venkatesh Prasad, Karnataka cricketers Vijay Bharadwaj and Sujith Somasundar (a Test capped player), former Ranji Trophy player Srinivasa Prasad, Sadananda Maiyya, KSCA vice-president, and industrialist-cum-educational philanthropist Dayananda Pai. Ashok alleged that Pai was given tickets worth Rs10 lakh and Maiyya worth Rs5 lakh.
Dravid got 120 tickets while Venkatesh Prasad, Bharadwaj, Somasundar, Srinivasa Prasad and Binny got 100 tickets each, he alleged. He said KSCA sold only 1,000 tickets instead of 20,000, while 2000 were given to KSCA members’ relatives, he alleged.
He rejected KSCA’s explanation that Bengal Cricket Association (BCA) had sought significant number of tickets as the match was originally scheduled to be played in Kolkata, and said BCA president Jagmohan Dalmia too had denied it. The state legislators were baying for Kumble and KSCA secretary Javagal Srinath’s scalps in the assembly on Thursday. Ashok alleged that Kumble, too, was involved in the irregularities.
Cutting across party lines, the MLAs alleged that Kumble was earning 18% commission on each contract awarded to his friends, and cited the Rs5 crore contract for illumination of the stadium which was allegedly awarded without inviting tenders.
They demanded that two tickets/passes be given to each of them for future matches besides deserving better courtesy from KSCA officials as the state government had provided land for Chinnaswamy Stadium. They also demanded that Kumble and Srinath be summoned to the assembly to answer their questions. Chief minister BS Yeddyurappa assured the house that he would do so.
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