No water in Pune, no food in Bengaluru: Taking Indian cricket fans for granted must stop

The success of any sport, every sport, is directly linked to the kind of patronage it receives from the fans. Any sportsperson worth their salt is apt to feel let down if they have to ply their wares in front of empty stands. Millions might watch them on television and enjoy the entertainment, but the kick that one gets out of a full house rooting without inhibition is impossible to replicate.

Many a celebrated cricketer dwelled on this aspect during the Covid-19 pandemic when international cricket as well as the Indian Premier League were played behind closed doors. Television audiences were massive, and that didn’t count for nothing, but the artificial applause driven by recorded soundtracks hardly galvanised them.

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The players themselves are not just mindful of but also grateful for the wholehearted and unselfish support and encouragement of the fans and the paying spectators, but the same can’t always be said of cricket administrators. Hardly does a big-ticket game or event go by without the same burning issues that have lingered for more than two decades rearing their head. Among the biggest sources of angst are the difficulty in procuring tickets and then making it safely and in time to the ground, and the lack of even basic amenities such as water, food and clean washroom facilities.

Are fans not valued enough in India?

Sport-watching is meant to be a pleasurable experience. To witness first-hand some of the best players in the business stretching every sinew to portray their best in an ultra-competitive setting is a huge privilege, but should it come at a great cost to one’s safety and health? Paying spectators don’t just invest money and time; they also invest their emotions, hopes, dreams, and prayers. Especially in India, they do come to watch a good game of cricket, but they largely troop in to see their heroes perform and succeed. They come in droves, with their musical instruments and prayers in tow. How long can we keep appealing to their passion? How long can we keep taking them for granted? How long before the paying fan is disillusioned by the continued disregard of the administrators who treat them like unwelcome guests when they are, without a question, the sport’s biggest stakeholders.

The ongoing Pune Test against New Zealand is the latest example of the indifference to the fans’ basic requirements. On day one of the game in Pune on Thursday, impromptu protests broke out at the MCA International Stadium because there was no drinking water available to fans in various stands, among them the North Stand just in front of the Press Box.

In the days leading up to the game, the fans weren’t just promised free water, but also cold water to help them stay hydrated and cool with the temperature hitting the 30-degree Centigrade mark. Imagine their discomfiture, not to mention their displeasure, when they were forced to spend hours on end waiting to parch their throats at a venue where less than 30% of the stands have overhead shelter.

Water is the most basic of requirements. It’s something that we don’t think twice about because most of the time, it is readily available. But imagine travelling 30 kilometres, which is how far the stadium is from the city centre, at 8 in the morning to be present for the 9.30 am start, forced to come empty-handed because security concerns prevent fans from bringing anything more than a cellphone and the wallet to the ground, and then having to endure long spells without a sip of water. Many of the near-18,000 spectators at the ground passed out due to dehydration, forcing the first-aid teams located in different parts of the stadium to work overtime.

Problems aplenty across all venues

The secretary of the Maharashtra Cricket Association, Kamlesh Pisal, apologised to the fans and promised that there would be no repeat of the unfortunate episode for the remainder of the Test. While it was refreshing to see an administrator own up responsibility – like Rohit Sharma had done after opting to bat in Bengaluru – the bigger question is why things must go wrong before they wake up even the most elementary of realities.

The water issue in Pune is not a one-off. During the Bangladesh Test in Chennai last month, a friend was seated in the G Upper Stand which had just one outlet where water was sold – sold, mind you, not available without charge. There were nearly 3,000 spectators in that stand alone and Chennai at any time of the year is, well, Chennai. There was a beeline for water – a small cup of around 100 millilitres of water cost Rs 10, but the demand was so high that after a while, even water on sale ran out and the spectators were forced to shell out more money for only the aerated soft drinks available.

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In Bengaluru during the first New Zealand Test last week, food ran out in some stands in no time though drinking water was easily available. However, because historically the washrooms are in a deplorable state at most cricket grounds in India, a lady friend refused to even contemplate going anywhere near it.

Why? Why are we so indifferent to the most fundamental requirements? Are we so snug in our elevated ivory towers that we are so callous to ground realities?

It doesn’t require a great deal of effort to address these issues, which are neither trivial nor frivolous. All it requires is empathy, a strong will, the willingness to acknowledge that there are problems that need to be fixed and then getting down to brasstacks and getting the job done. In Bengaluru after the eight-wicket loss, Rohit spoke at length of how grateful the average Indian cricketer is for the sustained love of the Indian fan, and how the players don’t take that backing, support and encouragement for granted. Maybe it’s time he drills that message into those tasked with governing the sport in the country, too.