The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) will discuss Lionel Messi’s prospective December 13 Eden Gardens visit at its apex body meeting on Tuesday.
The decision was taken after an official communication on the matter had been sent to the state association by the organisers of Messi’s second visit to India.
“I got the email from the organisers last night (Sunday). Now, there’s a process that we need to follow.
“We’ll have to place the matter before our apex body. If we get the go-ahead from the apex body, the matter will then be before the Army, whose approval is also required.
“After the discussions at the apex meeting, we’ll then sit with the organisers of the event. We still don’t know what financial terms the apex body will come up with.
“We’ll have to place the financial terms before the organisers. If they agree, it will then get a move-on and be placed before the Army,” CAB president Snehasish Ganguly told The Telegraph on Monday.
The organisers are learnt to have been planning to get Messi felicitated at the Eden by former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly in the presence of a few other celebrities. A motivational session for kids, where Messi will be teaching them a few skills, has also been planned.
A musical tribute to Messi is also being lined up at the Eden, Wankhede and Kotla.