CHENNAI: Like any cricket fans, these superfans too missed watching games from the galleries in the past 11 months or so. However, unlike their lesser-known counterparts, they missed the stands and vibrant atmosphere therein more badly as that was where they found their identity.
So when the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association allowed spectators' entry at the MA Chidambaram Stadium for the second Test between India and England, they made no delay in reaching the venue to do what they have been doing for years. Cheering their team in their trademark styles.
Bathed in the colour of the Indian flag, Sudhir Gautam was relentlessly blowing the conch and waving the tricolour even at the slightest action on the field on Day 3. At every move, he was joined by Dharamveer Pal, a widely recognised polio-afflicted fan of the Indian cricket team from Morena, Madhya Pradesh and Vignesh Waran, a die-hard Chennai Super Kings fan from Tamil Nadu.
"It's really nice to be back in the stands especially after a long break of one year," Gautam told TNIE. The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown had hit him hard like many of his compatriots.
"With the India-South Africa ODI series getting cancelled last March, I reached New Delhi so that I can leave for my city Muzaffarpur in Bihar. However, the lockdown was announced soon stranding me there for 56 days. It was only after procuring special permission from the police commissioner, I was able to return to my place riding a two-wheeler for more than 30 hours," he informed.
Apparently frustrated with the non-ending wait, the Sachin Tendulkar fan had even visited Kolkata in January to urge the BCCI president Sourav Ganguly to allow spectators for the England series. Vignesh was lucky in that sense as he boarded a flight for Chennai on time after the cancellation of the ODI series. But it was Dharamveer, who was the luckiest of them.
"I was in Agra at my uncle's place after Dharamsala ODI got cancelled. I was supposed to leave for Lucknow to watch the second ODI, but got a mail informing about series cancellation."
The cancellation meant he returned to his hometown and stayed there before boarding a train and reaching Chennai on February 10. Back in the stands, Gautam and Dharamveer will also be seen in action in Ahmedabad. While the former will leave for Raipur to witness Road Safety World Series featuring Tendulkar after the pink-ball Test, the latter will watch the complete Ahmedabad leg before returning home.