Here I am, sitting in Finland watching the opening game of the 2023 Cricket World Cup being played in Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India.
Looking at a sparsely populated stadium and an opening ceremony which was totally lack lustre, for the starting point of an event of this magnitude, which takes place only once in 4 years, it is difficult to believe that Indians are cricket loving and also whether the Indian Cticket Board has any competence to host an international event of this significance.
The opening ceremony was Sachin Tendulkar walking out with two Quatari Air Hostesses to place the World Cup on a stand.
End of opening ceremony.
Shots of the stadium which is supposed to hold 110000 people was hardly a third full!
Does that speak of a country which loves cricket or one which just loves itself and the money which may be lining the pockets of the administrators?
As I watch the cricket on one of six 20 streams available to me, the streams are breaking up every two minutes!
The match goes on but I am sorely disappointed with the Indian organisers and the Indian cricket fans who are just partisans who love nothing but themselves.
I return to theWorld Cup which was held in 1987 and was run by my family owned company, MRF Ltd.
It went like clockwork and there was not a single hitch.
MRF took on the task by telling the Indian Organisers that that would not accept any interference in the organisation. It was tun totally professionally with my two cousins, Vinoo and the late Ravi Mammen, and my good friend S. Rama Ratnam, himself an ardent sports lover, putting together a team of professionals to run the event.
In 1989 I attended a International Semiconductor Conference in Delhi. When I went to the registration counter with my Professor, the lady asked my local address. I told her we were staying at the MRF Guest House in Sundernagar. On hearing this she asked for my relationship to MRF. When I told her of my roots, she did not take any money to register us and we were given pride of place at the conference, much to the amazement of my colleague!
She told me that MRF had brought great credit to our country in the way they had organised the World Cup!
Shame today on my country.
I am ashamed on the organisation of the present Wotld Cup, an insult to sports loving cricket fans around the world. .
2 comments:
Jacob, even I devoted cricket enthusiast that I am, did not watch this opening match until NZ were into 15th over of their innings. Reasons: opening ceremonies are essentially tamasha, little to do with actual sports. Many fans' focus yesterday was on significant Asian Games events occurring simultaneously; e.g. I was watching Squash and Women's hockey. There has recently been a surfeit of cricket in the country, many matches in Ahmedabad; discerning spectators likely will preserve their convenience (yesterday was a working day) and entrance money for more attractive matches to come.
Apportion some blame to ICC for scheduling matches between 5 and 8 Oct to overlap with final days of Asian Games, which have greatly captured Indian viewers' interest through great success by several of our team.
I was a spectator at the 1987 World Cup Final in Eden Gardens. Organisation for common spectators was as elementary as it was for Test Matches there in those days - temporary wooden structure stands, unstable chairs with seat places often not clearly marked, toilets usable only through first couple of hours; no provision of water, drinks or food vending. There were parades of former distinguished cricketers before play started and laps of honour by the Australians after the match ended; these were conducted at ground level and hordes of media operators/journalists were permitted to accompany them around, surrounding them totally so that we in the stands could not see the dignitaries at all.
I realise that MRF would have relied on CAB for actual arrangements within the ground, but do realise that all was not as perfect as it might have been.
I was not there in 1987 so can only go by the reaction I got from a complete stranger at completely unrelated event. I had a similar experience at Nagpur
Airport. I was not able to
Watch it on tv from Finland those days snd depended on
Live updates of matches ftom a Professor in US who was updating on his unix computer system! But we live in a different world today and one would expect a World Cup to be covered as an international event with all the frazzle that goes with it. Local and personal preferences cannot be thevover riding factor.
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