TIRUNELVELI: Keeping in line with their aim of promoting rural cricket through the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), the Tirunelveli District Cricket Association’s (TDCA) has focussed on improving facilities at the India Cements ground in Sankarnagar.
“We feared that we wouldn’t be able to attract crowds. But the first edition’s success, we realised the need to provide improved infrastructure. We have added two more stands, increasing capacity to 4,000 from 3,400,” said TDCA vice president S Shanmugam.
Earlier, the Madurai bench of High court had asked the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) to ensure that matches in Tirunelveli be held with adequate safety measures.
This came in the wake of a disposed petition which was intended to seek an interim injunction to restrain TNCA from conducting the tournament at the venue and to shift it to any other place. The reasons cited were proximity to National Highway 44 and availability of only one entrance.
The TDCA has now set up sufficient gates with separate entries for visitors, VIPs, VVIPs, media, and marketing personnel. “We have eight exit gates, which can be used to clear the ground in less than two-and-a-half minutes. We have also increased the height of the walls near the stands,” said R Murali, TDCA secretary.
Another major improvement that the association has made is the use of recycled water for maintaining the ground. “As there is no rainfall, around 60 per cent of the water used is sourced from Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) set up in and around Sankar Nagar and the India Cements factory. We have two borewells for watering the pitch.”
This improvement in facilities has added more value to the sport, which is already treated quite like a festival in these parts. Murali said, “On the opening day, we saw 1,200 people leaving without tickets. People come here as a family and enjoy the spirit of game. It’s like a month’s thiruvizha (festival) for them, dancing to kuthu tunes. L Sivaramakrishnan once said the crowd here is similar to that in Sri Lanka, but with more involvement.”
The major reason for TNPL’s success in Tirunelveli is the ground’s nearness to Palayamkottai, Kovilpatti, Papanasam, and Thenkasi — towns that haven’t seen notable cricket.
“Even when we had a Ranji Trophy match in 2015, people came in good numbers. The ground will be jam packed on Saturdays and Sundays, with people coming from various towns.”
Unlike the IPL, TNPL has only three grounds. But the TDCA officials revealed that Coimbatore and Karur may be hosting matches next year.
srinidhi@newindianexpress.com