Indian fans can now report ticket, seating hassles during cricket matches

Fans during an IPL-11 match at Wankhede Stadium

Cricket fans in India will now have an official platform to address their grievances concerning ticketing, access and facilities at stadiums across the country. The new constitution of the BCCI as per the Justice Lodha Committee recommendations accepted by the Supreme Court, which was registered with the Tamil Nadu Registrar of Societies yesterday, has made a provision for the public to complain to the Ombudsman if they are aggrieved.

"The Ombudsman shall have the power to impose penalties as provided by the regulations for players, team officials, administrators, managers and match officials of the BCCI. The decision of the Ombudsman shall be final and binding and shall come into force forthwith on being pronounced and delivered," stated the BCCI's revamped constitution.

As per the procedure, the BCCI CEO, "shall forthwith make a preliminary inquiry and call for explanations from the concerned person(s) and submit report to the Apex Council not later than 15 days from the date of reference being made by the Apex Council."

The constitution also made a provision to ensure ticket rates are reasonable and widely available. Students will be offered seats at nominal rates and there will be a cap on the allotment of free tickets.

"The website of the BCCI shall have links to all the stadia in the country which host international matches, along with their complete seating capacity, pricing and transparent booking procedures for all tournaments whether international, domestic or IPL. "All sponsor(s) and other free allotments shall also be disclosed, in no event being more than 10 per cent of the entire seating capacity in any particular category," it stated.

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