‘Missed Kohli in action, but country first': Fans after IPL match deferred in Lucknow
LUCKNOW For the second time in five years, Lucknowites on Friday missed watching star cricketer Virat Kohli live in action at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow after the IPL match between hosts Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru was postponed in wake of BCCI suspending the tournament for a week.
In March 2020, Team India's second ODI against South Africa was also cancelled at the eleventh hour even after the arrival of the two teams in Lucknow due to Covid-19.
The LSG-RCB match was scheduled to start at 7.30pm on Friday. Around 1pm, the BCCI suspended the remainder of the ongoing tournament for a week and also announced that further updates regarding the new schedule and venues of the tournament will be announced in due course after a comprehensive assessment of the situation in consultation with authorities and stakeholders.
A huge crowd of fans gathered outside the Ekana stadium to cross-check the postponement of Friday's match. After knowing the update, they started shouting anti-Pakistan slogans like 'Pakistan Murdabad, Indian Army Zindabad', 'Narendra Modi Zindabad', etc.
'We are certainly missing our hero Virat Kohli live in action, but at the same time we are proud to be Indians. For us, nation comes first and cricket is not above the country,' said Tabrez, a fan.
'I got the match ticket a month ago and till last night, I was excited about seeing Kohli live in action for the first time. But this afternoon, I came to know about the postponement of the match. It is disappointing, but for me the country is more important than the match,' added another fan, Rashid.
Similar sentiments were echoed by other fans from Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Muzaffarpur (Bihar) and Nepal, etc. But a group of about 30-40 vendors, selling T-shirts, caps and other merchandise on the roads outside the Ekana stadium, also suffered a setback due to the match postponement.
Most of them said they suffered losses between ₹25,000 and ₹65,000, as they were expecting a huge turnout.
'Even yesterday, I sold T-shirts and caps, mentioning RCB and Virat Kohli worth ₹13,000 and was expecting a sell-out today. But this sudden postponement hit my plans hard,' said one Sukant Banerjee, who came all the way from West Bengal.
'I have been a regular from Kolkata during IPL matches and it's been an annual business trip not only for me but for many like me from the region,' said Banerjee, who also makes jerseys for fans during the football derby in Kolkata.
Another vendor, Satya, from Tamil Nadu also looked disappointed with the postponement of RCB-LSG match but said that country comes first for him too. 'No worries even if I lose a few thousand in my business. If our country is safe, I will make more money in future. I also stand by the Indian Army and government for action against Pakistan, which is spreading terrorism in India,' he added.
Food vendors, in and outside the stadium, were also a dejected lot. 'I spent heavily on raw materials for the supply of eatables to fans during the match and now all these things will go waste,' said one Rajkumar, adding, 'Ever since the postponement of the match, I am not allowed to enter the stadium where my things are lying unattended.'
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