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Ratnakar Shetty, the World Cup's tournament director, has said that the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai will have all the necessary permissions in place before it hosts the group-stage game between New Zealand and Canada on March 13. The stadium recently failed a fire inspection, raising concerns that it may not be ready in time for the match. It is also scheduled to host the final on April 2.
"There will be no compromise of any requirements for any government body or agency," Shetty said at the unveiling of the renovated Wankhede stadium. "Every permission that is required will be obtained."
He explained that the fire department was concerned primarily with the newly built areas, specifically the basement under the north stand that will serve as the broadcaster's control room, and that the Mumbai Cricket Association was already in the process of fixing the problems. However, he refused to be drawn into the exact nature of the permissions required or whether any deadlines had been set to obtain them. ESPNcricinfo understands that the fire department is not scheduled to make a second inspection of the venue.
On the subject of tickets, Shetty said that the association is limited to offering only 4000 tickets for the final to the general public because it is contractually obligated to offer tickets to the ICC (8500), as well as its member clubs (roughly 20,000). The limited number of tickets was further exacerbated by the renovation, which reduced the capacity of the stadium from 38,000 to 33,000. One thousand tickets for the final will be available online at Kyazoonga from February 21 and the remaining 3000 tickets would be sold through the association.
When asked whether it was unfair that only 4000 tickets would be sold for a game as important as the World Cup final, Shetty said the members of the clubs are also part of the "public" and so he disagrees with that assertion, but at the same time he also pointed out that the association's hands are tied because it has to honour its contracts.
While the pitch is ready for play, Shetty was noncommittal on the subject of a practice match, saying only that there are plenty of "cricket experts on the committee" who are monitoring the pitch and that the curator has always managed to produce a good wicket. They are also monitoring the shadow created by the new roof that creeps across the pitch as the sun sets, but Shetty said it was "not an immediate problem".
Tariq Engineer is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo
Feeds: Tariq Engineer© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
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