Ticket refunds are the responsibility of the state association (UPCA): BCCI

New Delhi, Dec 18 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) After the fourth T20I between India and South Africa was abandoned due to excessive fog and poor visibility, BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia said that the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) is the “competent authority” to oversee a full refund for ticket holders.

The abandonment of the match sparked frustration among spectators, who are expecting a refund for their tickets. Under the BCCI’s refund policy, spectators are eligible for reimbursement (minus fees) if a match is cancelled or abandoned before a single ball is bowled.

“That is under the domain of the state cricket association, which is UPCA. So, this game’s hosting state is the UPCA. So, they will be able to tell you about this, and they are the competent authority.

“Everything in ticketing is done by the state association, as the BCCI just gives them the hosting rights and all these things are taken care of and are under the domain of the state association,” Saikia told IANS on Thursday.

Repeated inspections by on-field umpires K.N. Ananthapadmanabhan and Rohan Pandit, along with reserve umpire J.R. Madanagopal, didn’t yield the desired outcome as the game was eventually called off at 9.30 pm.

Due to the match being abandoned at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium, India holds a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, with the fifth and final game set to take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday.

The abandonment of the fourth T20I has reignited debate over the BCCI’s scheduling of international games in winter months, particularly with this series against South Africa seen as a part of vital preparation ahead of the Men’s T20 World Cup in February-March.

This was the first time a T20I was staged in Lucknow in December, and it now carries the unwanted distinction of hosting India’s first major international match abandoned due to excessive fog.

India’s seam-bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya was even spotted wearing a mask in the middle, underscoring the severity of fog and the Air Quality Index (AQI), which remained hazardous. The scheduling of fixtures in North Indian winters has long been a contentious issue, and Saikia felt Wednesday’s game being abandoned in Lucknow was just an exceptional situation.

“No, it is a solitary weather situation. Normally we have this kind of weather in the month of January. This time it is quite early, number one, and number two, we had a match in Dharamsala also the other day. Dharamsala is a much colder place. So you cannot predict fog, and rain. Nowadays cricket is a throughout the year annual event for 12, and we have to have the matches.

“When we saw that there were big disturbances from fog in northern India in the month of January, we already restructured our domestic cricket matches. That’s why there is a big gap between Ranji Trophy matches in North India. If you look at our schedule, we have bifurcated the Ranji Trophy matches into two parts.

“During the first part of January, we are not scheduling any matches in North India from last year onwards, if you follow that. This Lucknow incident is an exceptional weather condition. We had three matches in North India – one in Chandigarh, Dharamshala and one in Lucknow – all are in the same build,” he elaborated.

Saikia also gave an example of how prior advice on smog affecting New Delhi after Diwali had led to the national capital hosting the second Test against the West Indies in October, instead of the originally decided series opener against South Africa.

“If we had got any sense that there will be something like this, you can take the example of rescheduling or swapping of the Test match in New Delhi. If you look at the West Indies match, the second Test was played in New Delhi. In fact, the second Test was scheduled to happen in Kolkata.

“The first Test match against South Africa was originally scheduled to happen in New Delhi. But when we got to know about this smog situation after Diwali, we swapped the matches of Kolkata and New Delhi. But Lucknow is an exceptional situation. It was not foreseen, and this kind of predictability is not there in weather conditions.

“I don’t think Lucknow always has this kind of fog at this part of the time. Maybe in the first part of January, it is normal, but we are still in the second or third week of December. We still have 15 days time to be in that situation. That is one of the tough things we saw yesterday, and for this, we cannot have any kind of rescheduling,” he concluded.

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