New Delhi: The ICC Cricket World Cup -- to be played in India starting October -- belongs to every Indian and the joy could have been spread around instead on corralling it in a few BJP-ruled states, Congress' Shashi Tharoor indicated today. Underscoring that he would prefer not to taint cricket with politics, Mr Tharoor made the point that the goodies have been unevenly distributed.
"You only have 10 venues for 45 matches and multiple venues seem to have five matches each, which is frankly an extravagance," Mr Tharoor told NDTV in an exclusive interview, questioning why the authorities did not fight for more venues. "If you had three more venues and three matches each, everyone would have been happy," he said.
He also said he was "concerned" that the lion's share of the matches have been reserved for Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi stadium -- the first and the last matches, plus the two biggest marquee matches -- India versus Pakistan and England versus Australia.
"Now that can't just be accidental," Mr Tharoor said, "This is obviously a question of the amount of the clout commanded by Ahmedabad through its voices in the board".
"We have to understand this is clearly the way the country is going at the moment... But they can still spread the benefits more widely and take everyone along. The tournament belongs to every Indian," he added.
"It seems the BCCI (Board of Cricket Control In India) has used its influence in the ICC," Mr Tharoor said, pointing out the organisation has got a "responsibility to the game inside the country, to promoting it and getting world class cricket to the audience. It is a shame they passed up those opportunities".
Opposition-ruled states have already voiced strong protest about the way the matches have been spread, to which sources in the BCCI have cited World Cup rules about having only 10 stadiums.
They have also said that logistics will be problem, as well as providing security if the number of venues increase.
Mr Tharoor, though, brushed off the argument.
As examples he cited three stadiums – Punjab's Mohali, Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram and Jharkhand's Ranchi. "These are stadiums where international cricket is often played, so why not for the World Cup," he said.
"Mohali had hosted the 2011 World Cup. How can it suddenly become unsuitable?" he questioned, adding that he found the reasoning "extremely specious".
"Thiruvananthapuram has been given practice matches, so clearly there is no shortage of hotel rooms. You will bring only two teams, not all ten. So the logistics argument is extremely exaggerated," he added.
The ICC World Cup will open on October 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium – the first match will be between defending champions England and runner-up New Zealand.
India's first match will be against Australia on October 8 in Chennai. The match that will draw most eye-balls – India versus Pakistan is due on October 15 at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
The other cities where the main matches will be played are Bengaluru, Delhi, Dharamsala, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune.
Guwahati and Hyderabad will join Thiruvananthapuram in hosting practice matches.