Jaitley expects huge profit from Delhi ODI

Arun Jaitley, former law minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government and president of the Delhi and District Cricket Association, hopes to make a sizeable profit by hosting the sixth and final One-day International between India and Pakistan at the Ferozshah Kotla in Delhi on April 17.

Pakistan president Pervez Musharaff and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will be among the distinguished guests watching the match.

Speaking to rediff.com, Jaitley said the DDCA is under tremendous pressure but it will cope with it and successfully stage the match.

He admitted that there is an unprecedented rush for complimentary passes and tickets from all quarters of society, including Members of Parliament and other agencies.

"It is time that people of Delhi cultivate the habit of buying tickets instead of looking for free passes," he said.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has asked for 4,000 tickets for the match, but the DDCA is not in a position to meet the demand.

"We are sending 2,000 tickets to the PCB. They will be paying for these tickets. But the pressure comes from other sources as well. Earlier we had a capacity of 25,000 and the number of passes issued were in the region of 15,000. That gave us little margin to make profits.

"Now our capacity has gone up to 30,000 and hence we would be able to make enough money to complete the stadia," he said.

While sponsors would get 4,000 passes, 3,700 would be given at half the price of the tickets to the 112 clubs affiliated to the DDCA. Students would get tickets for Rs 200 each.

"Then we have to deal with various agencies and others who will also take up a major chunk, including 4,200 complimentary tickets to the members of the DDCA," he added.

Asked if he received the necessary clearances to host the match from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and other agencies Jaitley replied in the affirmative.

"The game is on," he said.