BANGALORE: At a press conference where queries on World Cup tickets (or lack of them) flew thick and fast, International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Haroon Lorgat offered to play the forward defensive shot. Or rather, he was forced to.
Lorgat, however, promised a better ticketing system in the later part of the tournament. "We will follow our ballot system to release tickets for the future matches, including the semifinals and final. It is a much more fairer way and it will avoid the physical risks that we want to avoid. I'm confident it will be a better system to release tickets," stated Lorgat, while adding that a centralized system would be in place for the next edition of the quadrennial event.
Asked about the chaotic scenes at stadium counters in Bangalore a few days back, Lorgat was keen to point out the brighter face. "You got to accept that all these rush for tickets is an indication of how popular the game is. Sometime back we talked about the demise of 50-over cricket. And look what we have got? No matter what sort of capacity we provide, the truth is there won't be enough seats for the demand that is on our hand," explained Lorgat.
Joined by Karnataka State Cricket Association secretary Javagal Srinath on the dais, Lorgat replied the barrage of questions with a stoic face and sought Srinath's help on many occasions. Some questions were thrown directly at the former India pacer too, who took the opportunity to apologize both to the people who were hurt in the lathicharge and those who had to return disappointed after failing to get a ticket.
"All these tickets in one way or the other find their way to the public. The sale of tickets is in the hands of the hosts. We settle sub-agreements with them. Some commitments are made well in advance as it's concerned with our sponsors. A host has also got commitments - local organisation, clubs, BCCI etc," stated Lorgat, while adding that the ICC has a no-tolerance policy against black marketing.
Srinath took over from there, saying that the KSCA will be getting tickets from the ICC "in batches of 25-30" . "It's called option-to-buy tickets. If the sponsors reject in batches of 25 or 40, we cannot go to the box office," explained Srinath.
On ICC's letter to its president Sharad Pawar - who is also the chairman of the organizing committee - regarding the ticketing chaos, Lorgat played down the controversy, saying that it was a regular communication affair and that he was optimistic of all assistance from Pawar's office.
On the Umpire Decision Review System, Lorgat was optimistic. "We did make a bold decision to use the UDRS in the World Cup. My experience of what I have seen so far is that it is a good decision. We will discuss it at the cricket committee meeting in May and will consider all the feedback after that meeting," concluded Lorgat.
Lorgat, however, promised a better ticketing system in the later part of the tournament. "We will follow our ballot system to release tickets for the future matches, including the semifinals and final. It is a much more fairer way and it will avoid the physical risks that we want to avoid. I'm confident it will be a better system to release tickets," stated Lorgat, while adding that a centralized system would be in place for the next edition of the quadrennial event.
Asked about the chaotic scenes at stadium counters in Bangalore a few days back, Lorgat was keen to point out the brighter face. "You got to accept that all these rush for tickets is an indication of how popular the game is. Sometime back we talked about the demise of 50-over cricket. And look what we have got? No matter what sort of capacity we provide, the truth is there won't be enough seats for the demand that is on our hand," explained Lorgat.
Joined by Karnataka State Cricket Association secretary Javagal Srinath on the dais, Lorgat replied the barrage of questions with a stoic face and sought Srinath's help on many occasions. Some questions were thrown directly at the former India pacer too, who took the opportunity to apologize both to the people who were hurt in the lathicharge and those who had to return disappointed after failing to get a ticket.
"All these tickets in one way or the other find their way to the public. The sale of tickets is in the hands of the hosts. We settle sub-agreements with them. Some commitments are made well in advance as it's concerned with our sponsors. A host has also got commitments - local organisation, clubs, BCCI etc," stated Lorgat, while adding that the ICC has a no-tolerance policy against black marketing.
Srinath took over from there, saying that the KSCA will be getting tickets from the ICC "in batches of 25-30" . "It's called option-to-buy tickets. If the sponsors reject in batches of 25 or 40, we cannot go to the box office," explained Srinath.
On ICC's letter to its president Sharad Pawar - who is also the chairman of the organizing committee - regarding the ticketing chaos, Lorgat played down the controversy, saying that it was a regular communication affair and that he was optimistic of all assistance from Pawar's office.
On the Umpire Decision Review System, Lorgat was optimistic. "We did make a bold decision to use the UDRS in the World Cup. My experience of what I have seen so far is that it is a good decision. We will discuss it at the cricket committee meeting in May and will consider all the feedback after that meeting," concluded Lorgat.
