THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The capital is ready to turn blue as Team India arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, with the return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to the ODI arena sending cricket fever soaring across Keralam.
With the first India-West Indies ODI scheduled to be played at the Greenfield Stadium on Sunday sold out within 24 hours of ticket sales opening, the anticipation around the match has gone well beyond a routine international fixture. For thousands of fans, the biggest attraction is the return of the ‘Ro-Ko’ duo to the city’s cricketing stage after nearly seven years.
An ODI coming to Keralam after several years has sent waves of excitement among cricket followers. Aromal U S, an avid fan, said the long wait for an ODI has made the match very special. “It is a big gap.
We normally get T20 matches here, but ODIs have not been coming to Thiruvananthapuram regularly. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are at the final stages of their careers, and we don’t know how much longer they will continue playing. So when they come and play in Keralam, the excitement is huge. I was particularly excited because I got an opportunity to see Virat Kohli at the airport,” Aromal said.
The two last played an ODI together at Greenfield in November 2018, when India defeated the West Indies by nine wickets. Their last appearance together at the venue came in the 2019 T20I against the same opponents. Shabir S, who travelled from Kollam with two friends to catch a glimpse of the Indian players at the airport, said it was challenging to secure tickets.
“We bought the tickets mainly because we wanted to see them play, especially since this could be their last appearance here. We had to sit for two or three hours trying to book the tickets online. Even then, we could get only individual tickets. Many of my friends didn’t get tickets,” Shabir said. He said the demand for tickets reflected the excitement among fans. “The tickets were sold out very quickly. We spent hours trying to get them.
A lot of people could not get tickets. We usually come for major matches in Thiruvananthapuram because the stadium is close enough for us, but this match is particularly special because of the players involved,” he said.
According to Kerala Cricket Association (KCA), this is the first time the tickets were sold out within hours of going on sale online, on September 17.
“That was certainly surprising. The previous matches at the venue had also sold out, but within a day or two, usually 24 to 26 hours. This time, the tickets were snapped up faster. The presence of Rohit and Kohli could be one of the reasons,” KCA secretary Vinod S Kumar told TNIE.
He said there is no particular reason for the long gap in the state getting an ODI. “The BCCI allots matches to venues on a rotation basis. Depending on the home series and the number of ODIs being played in the country, the matches are distributed among the different hosting venues. T20 matches are more frequent, so the next match we get could be a T20,” Vinod said.
The Shubman Gill-led India squad includes former captains Rohit and Kohli for the three-match series against the West Indies. The series is also part of India’s build-up towards the 2027 ODI World Cup, with the selectors retaining the two veteran batters in the ODI set-up.
