The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) is in the midst of unearthing a major discrepancy in the unsold tickets saga during the 2011 World Cup final that India won after 28 years at the Wankhede Stadium.
According to sources, the three-man inquiry committee, probing the 405 tickets of the final going unsold, is suspecting that the public was deprived of more tickets for the all-important clash.u00a0
“Four hundred and five tickets is just the tip of the iceberg. There could be more tickets which may have gone unsold. A proper figure would be ascertained very soon once a few documents are furnished by the MCA,” a source told MiD DAY.
Another source said that there “could be” a possibility of a “major racket”. u00a0It is learnt that two members, who were part of the ticketing process, failed to turn up before the inquiry committee. They would be given a final opportunity to present their case in front of the probe committee soon.
“If they fail to turn up again, they will be sent a letter stating that the probe committee has every right to prepare their report according to their initial findings,” a source said.
Yesterday, the inquiry committee briefed MCA president Ravi Savant, who was out of the country for a few weeks, about their findings and issues being faced.
So far only Prof Ratnakar Shetty and former managing committee member Shripad Halbe have appeared before the probe committee.
Shetty, who has dragged the MCA to court to overturn his five-year ban, was the World Cup tournament director and the association’s treasurer then, while Halbe was part of the ticketing process committee for the mega event.
MiD DAY was the first to break the news of 405 World Cup final tickets being unsold in its March 19, 2012 edition. The MCA suffered a loss of Rs 73.5 lakh from the unsold tickets.
It was shocking when 96 tickets of Rs 1,500 per ticket of the Sunil Gavaskar Stand (lower bay) which was meant for the public, also went unsold. The demand created a thriving ground for black marketers and some tickets were reportedly sold for Rs 1,50,000 each.u00a0
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