MCA accepts conditions in bid to regain IPL final

The Mumbai Cricket Association's (MCA) managing committee has decided to adhere to all the conditions put in place by the IPL chairman Ranjib Biswal, in a follow-up to MCA chief Sharad Pawar's letter asking why the IPL final was taken away from Mumbai. While the MCA vice-president Ravi Savant said it will respect all the conditions imposed by the IPL authorities, Biswal clarified that the IPL has not set any riders on the MCA for the June 1 final to be re-allotted to the Wankhede stadium.

"The managing committee has decided to accept all the conditions, including ensuring seating arrangements for all franchise owners. Since a playoff is their match, they can invite whosoever they want. We can't have a say in it. The reply to that effect has been sent to the IPL chairman," Savant said after the MCA managing committee met for the second time in four days after the IPL authorities moved the final from Wankhede Stadium to the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

However, Biswal told ESPNcricinfo that the question of re-allotting the final to Mumbai does not arise.

"Whether I will respond to the MCA letter or not depends on the contents of the letter," Biswal said. "But I can confirm that I had only explained the reasons for which the decision to move the final to Bangalore was taken. We hadn't put any riders in the last letter. Also, so far we have not received any formal request to re-allot the final to Wankhede."

After discussing the issue, the MCA managing committee has decided to put in a formal request to the IPL to not deviate from the tradition of letting the home ground of the defending IPL champions to host the final and not deprive fans in Mumbai from witnessing the marquee clash. "Once we have decided to fulfill all the conditions, we hope that the IPL would bring the final back to Mumbai," Savant said.

In his reply to MCA on May 13, a copy of which is with ESPNcricinfo, Biswal had cited 14 reasons to take the final away from Mumbai. The main reasons cited by Biswal included permission to be given for temporary hospitality structures or removal of seats in the Garware pavilion, 85% parking space to be reserved for the IPL, removal of restriction for any owners of IPL teams including Shah Rukh Khan, permission for sound and fireworks post 10pm until the presentation ceremony is completed and that the cost of police security should be in line with other locations at Rs 15-20 lakh per game (Mumbai police charge Rs 50 lakh per game).

If the final returns to Mumbai, the five-year ban imposed on Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Shah Rukh in May 2012 will have to be done away with. MCA had banned him following a spat with MCA officials after the game between Mumbai and Knight Riders at Wankhede on May 16, 2012.