THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Cricket matches in the past few days of the third season of the Kerala Cricket League have been nothing less than exciting: either a tight fight where teams win by a single-digit margin, or record totals in their innings. The Greenfield Stadium, Kariavattom, also saw some stellar performances by the state’s cricketers who ultimately dream of the blue jersey. But this excitement is not getting translated into footfalls as the stadium’s gallery remained largely empty throughout the matches.
A better headcount was seen only on Saturday, when former West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle attended the match between Kochi Blue Tigers and Thrissur Titans. KCA officials claimed that Saturday saw a total footfall of between 4000 and 5000 people attending the matches at different times, in the lower level gallery with a seating capacity of close to 23,000. This raises a serious question: despite solid performances by the state’s own players, free entry, and promotions by the state’s biggest icons like Mohanlal and Sanju Samson, where are the spectators?
Former head coach of Trivandrum Royals and a retired Ranji Trophy player, S Manoj, said that nowadays, people generally do not prefer to watch domestic matches by going to the stadium. “This trend is not exclusive to the KCL, but also applies to all other domestic leagues. In fact, KCL is one of the most viewed state-level cricket leagues in the country.
There is a common misconception that people have lost their interest in cricket: Had that been the case, would IPL matches still have such a viewership?” he said. Commenting that Kochi may be a better option for increased spectator turnout, Manoj also said that people should actively consider stepping out to support talents from the state.
Former Ranji Trophy cricketer Santhosh Karunakaran said that though there is no shortage in talent and infrastructure, proper analysis should be done as to why people don’t show up at the matches. “If we produce more players for IPL or other platforms with great visibility in the coming years, and also make them participate in this league, we will be able to attract more spectators.
However, KCL is just in the budding stage,” he said. Santhosh also said that the authorities may also consider tweaking some conditions to include one or two international players in each team to attract more viewers.
Commenting that the relatively lesser footfall in recent days could be due to rains and Onam vacations, Kerala Cricket Association secretary Vinod S Kumar told TNIE that a different set of people are attending the event, including college students, techies and families. However, sources from the KCA suggested that the absence of Sanju Samson could also be a contributing factor.