18 January 2005	Tuesday	07 Zilhaj 1425

NEW DELHI, Jan 17: Asian cricket chiefs were on Monday exploring alternative venues for next month's one-day international for tsunami victims following the Indian government's silence on whether proceeds from the game would be exempt from tax.

The Indian government collects tax from gate receipts for all international cricket matches played in the country, but officials pleaded for an exemption for the second tsunami fund-raiser, expected to be held in Calcutta in mid-February.

Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Jagmohan Dalmiya, who met federal finance minister P. Chidambaram last Tuesday to seek tax exemption, said there had been no reply from the government and time was fast running out.

"It is a pre-condition of the International Cricket Council (ICC) that no tax should be levied on what is essentially a fund-raiser," said Dalmiya. "We need time to organise the match. If there is no response from the government by Monday evening, we will look at other venues."

The Gaddafi stadium in Lahore, Pakistan and the Bangabandhu national stadium in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka were on the short-list, Dalmiya said, although neither venue could match the 90,000 seating capacity of Calcutta's Eden Gardens.

The first of the two fund-raising matches was played in Melbourne on Jan 10 between Asia and the Rest of the World teams and generated 11 million dollars in revenue.

The second match between the same teams will be held between Feb 11-13 so that star players from Australia and New Zealand can be accommodated in the world team, officials said.

Australia are due to begin a tour of New Zealand on Feb 17. It was earlier proposed to hold the match on Feb 15 or 16 to take in players from England and South Africa, who will be busy till Feb 13, but organisers decided to pitch in for what they perceive is the greater star appeal of Australians like captain Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Glenn McGrath and New Zealanders Chris Cairns and Stephen Fleming.

The Indian cricket board has also sought tax exemption for the Champions Trophy limited-overs tournament it hosts in October next year. The tournament, featuring all 10 Test-playing nations and two other teams, is held every two years to raise funds for the International Cricket Council's development programme. -AFP