So how did the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decide on venues for the 2011 World Cup? Simple — by a draw of lots. If Mohali was awarded the semifinal, it was simply because the venue was lucky.
“This process was adopted to eliminate bias and favouritism. I think it was a fair allocation,” Ratnakar Shetty, Managing Director of the 2011 World Cup Organising Committee, told DNA.
But the allocation of matches wasn’t just a Russian roulette. The BCCI gave all eight centres the choice between hosting India matches or knock-out games. The BCCI was allotted 29 of the 49 matches, including five league matches featuring Team India, a quarterfinal and a semifinal, besides the final.
As per the package offered, every India game came with three non-India league matches and every knock-out game (quarters, semis and final) fetched two non-India games.
Of the eight venues, Mumbai was left out of India and knock-out games because the Wankhede was allotted the final. Of the rest, only Mohali and Ahmedabad wanted knock-out contests. Chennai, Nagpur, Kolkata, New Delhi and Bangalore preferred India games.
At the BCCI office on Wednesday, a draw of lots was conducted to decide the hosts for the quarterfinal and semifinal. Mohali bagged the semifinal, while Motera the quarterfinal.
Punjab Cricket Association secretary MP Pandove said they were delighted to have bagged the semifinal. “It will be our second World Cup semifinal. The 1996 World Cup semifinal (Australia vs West Indies) was well-organised and it ended in a thriller. I hope this time too it will be as keenly-contested,” Pandove said.
“We have got some of the best facilities in the country and we’re looking forward to hosting the game.” The ICC will come out with a detailed World Cup schedule on November 9.
If Pakistan feature in the final, it will present an interesting scenario. The team has refused to play in India. The BCCI and the ICC are silent on this matter. “We’ve decided to allot all Pakistan games to Sri Lanka. At this stage, we can’t comment on the final,” Shetty said. The ICC refused to comment saying the schedule has not been finalised.
While Sri Lanka will host 12 games, including one quarterfinal and a semifinal, Bangladesh will host eight games, that include two quarterfinals. Dhaka will also get to host the opening ceremony on February 18.
