| MUMBAI:
The Cricket Club of India (CCI) has said that it will not host any of the twenty-20
format Indian Premier League (IPL) matches. This is because none of CCI members
is allowed to watch the IPL matches free of cost. Since
CCI is presently out of the race to host the IPL, the DY Patil ground in Nerul,
Navi Mumbai and Wankhede stadium will jointly host the event including the semi-finals
and finals. CCI
president Raj Singh Dungarpur said IPL wanted the entire stadium and since its
members would not be able to watch the matches, the club had decided not to host
the IPL matches. "If
the members are not able to watch the match, we won't have it. It's an inherent
right of the CCI member to watch the match and not pay for it, and this is mentioned
in the by-laws of the club," Dungarpur said. He
added that the condition of handing over 8 per cent of all category seating to
the franchise in this case, Reliance Industries Ltd and the rest twenty per cent
to IPL, Mumbai Cricket Association and the Cricket Board would not be acceptable
to the club. However,
CCI executive committee member Kamaljeet Rajpal said that the club was ready to
offer a portion of the club house for VIPs who would attend the matches but would
not compromise on releasing the children's enclosure to them. The
IPL matches are scheduled to start from 18 April with Mumbai hosting 10 matches.
The 59-match league will have its finals on 1 June. | 
