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[Saba Sports News] Former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly strongly supported his elder brother, Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Snehasish Ganguly, in response to the ticket controversy for Sunday’s India-South Africa World Cup clash.
The Kolkata Police had summoned Snehasish following allegations that the CAB had set aside a large number of tickets for black marketers’ personal gain, but Sourav Ganguly asserted that the CAB had no role in this matter.
He explained that Eden Gardens has a capacity of 67,000, while the demand for tickets exceeded one lakh, making it impossible to control. Sourav Ganguly emphasized that once the tickets leave Eden Gardens, the CAB has no control over their distribution and pricing.
“Police can only get hold of the culprit. CAB has no role in this. Eden has a capacity of 67,000 and the demand is for more than one lakh,” Ganguly shared. “It happens everywhere, the demand for tickets is so high, you can’t beat it. Nobody has control over it, only the Police can stop this.”
Regarding the controversy surrounding CAB life members not getting tickets, Sourav Ganguly clarified that the CAB constitution does not guarantee life members tickets for life. He pointed out that the CAB had provided 3,000 tickets to its members and emphasized that the demand for tickets was exceptionally high, leading to issues.
“Nowhere, it’s written in the CAB constitution that a life member will get tickets for life. The CAB in fact has given 3000 tickets,” the former India captain shared.
The lowest-priced India-South Africa tickets were sold for ₹900 but were being resold for around ₹5,000 in the black market. Some CAB life members were also displeased with the online ticketing process, which required members to register online, leading to technical difficulties and protests.
In addition to the ticket controversy, the Cricket Association of Bengal’s plan to celebrate Virat Kohli’s birthday during the India-South Africa match was canceled due to a lack of approval from the BCCI. The CAB had planned to distribute 70,000 masks of Kohli among the fans and hold a cake-cutting ceremony for him, but the event was called off.