Bhubaneswar: Is it excessive cricket that is taking the charm away of the game. It can be so if one judges by the number of fans present in front of a city hotel when both the India and Sri Lankan players arrived here Monday for the inaugural T20 game which will be played Wednesday at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.
It can definitely be said that the number of cheering fans had dwindled in comparison to those who were present when the Indian and England teams had arrived here in January, this year. May be, Sri Lanka’s recent performances have made the fate of the game a foregone conclusion or even the absence of Virat Kohli could be a reason for the cricket-crazy public to stay away.
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With no real icon present, the loudest cheers were for MS Dhoni. As the former Indian skipper peeped out through the bus window or even when the public managed a brief glimpse of him, cheers of Dhoni… Dhoni… could be heard from a long distance. It was quite clear that the wicketkeeper-batsman is still hugely popular with the fans.
There was one fan however, who caught the eye because of his support for Rohit Sharma. Rakesh Kumar Das from Puri had his body painted with the Indian Tricolour and had the words ‘Rohit 268’ inscribed on it. He waited patiently just to have a glimpse at his hero, the stand-in Indian captain.
“I am a big fan of Rohit. He is a class player and his ability to play long innings in limited-over cricket, is astonishing. It can be easily said that he (right now) the one of the most dependable batsmen in the Indian side,” said Rakesh. The fan, however, was the first to admit that 268 had been an error. “I know Rohit’s highest ODI score is 264. However, the mistake happened as everything was done in a hurry. Couldn’t rectify it,” added Rakesh sheepishly.
Both the teams arrived at the team hotel an hour after the scheduled time. The reason for the delay, however, was not made public. The players were welcomed in the traditional methods with flower petals being showered on them.
Notably, 22 police platoons and a unit of SOG were deployed for the security of the players and officials, informed a police source. A 12-member dance troupe from Ganjam also performed prior to the arrival of the players.
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