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Follow UsThere’s nothing silly about Ahmedabad as a city anymore. It has its appetite grown with time. Like the neighbouring GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec) city becoming home to some of the biggest tech and financial investments of the decade, Ahmedabad, home to India’s two most powerful personas - has become the epicentre of Indian cricket.
Thus, it’s only fitting that Ahmedabad gets everything. You name it, they have it. When the post-pandemic Indian cricket history is written, there’d be nothing for the Eden Gardens or the Wankhede to bolster their stories anymore - it’d be the Narendra Modi Stadium all the way.
Just like the inaugural match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. After a four-year-long hiatus, the biggest spectacle in cricket started at the biggest cricket stadium in the world. Like the pompous advertisement that preceded it, Ahmedabad found itself in a cacophony. Ticketing partner BookMyShow showed all tickets being sold out within a few hours of its opening.
But on D-day, what we’ve seen is nothing but a dull story. As Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar entered the venue to declare the tournament open, there were less than a couple of thousand people present at the venue at max. It ultimately grew to 20,000, but that was all about it.
Unfortunate is perhaps not the most apt word to use here. Because so many controllable factors had been compromised along the way to ensure a game between two fine cricketing nations being reduced to a story of ego and self-propaganda by some self-serving men in Indian cricket and the puppet ICC officials.
It is to be noted that this is the first time a single nation is hosting the entire 50-Over World Cup in one country. For the sheer vastness of India as a nation, it was only a natural progression and a fairer indicator of their financial might. To commemorate the occasion, it would only have been prudent to have the first game of the season in Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, or Kolkata, who have filled the grounds to the capacity even for smaller matches in the past and have an incredible amount of history to offer.
But for some Indian cricket officials, this would have been a disservice to what had been advertised. From the inaugural game of the World Cup to the most-awaited game of the competition, from the IPL final to the World Cup final, there is nothing that would skip the AMD itinerary.
With the city lacking the basic infrastructure to host the fans, unlivable places are going for gross amounts of money for the India-Pakistan weekend. Last I checked, a four-star hotel, which normally goes at 4000 rupees per night, is going at 1,34,000 at this moment. It’s not going to slow down, either.
Let me make one thing clear.
The purpose of this piece is not to bash Ahmedabad as a city that is growing as a commercial hub of western India, easing the pressure from overcrowded Mumbai, but to figure out how futuristic the tournament could have been. Umpteen calls have been made to structure the tournament, but in a rather cold manner, things were left to serve a dire fate.
In the four-year sojourn at the top of the BCCI office, Ahmedabad’s very own Jay Shah has helmed some of the biggest decisions in Indian cricket. Even though some may have come as self-aggrandizing, there’s at least some noble purpose behind starting the Women’s Premier League, ensuring pay-parity in Indian cricket, expediating the new National Cricket Academy (NCA) construction, helming record-breaking auctions for Indian Premier League and bilateral home rights.
Behind every single decision, there has been a good motive bolstered by competent professionals in the ecosystem who assisted Shah’s personal branding.
The 2022 Media rights sale wouldn’t have been a huge success without the involvement of M-Junction; the IPL bubble wouldn’t have been possible without Restrata - a company that specializes in integrated safety, security, and mobility operating systems; nor the home rights sale earlier this year would have been possible without the involvement of Ernst and Young Consulting Agency.
If there had been so much precedence, why did the BCCI and ICC have to subjugate themselves for a rather inferior arrangement for the World Cup? Your guess is as good as mine.
It perhaps doesn’t need to be told why any event in India would still be better than many events elsewhere - that’s the power of Indian cricket fans. A friend has kept aside a sum of 10 Lakh rupees to travel around the country and enjoy the spectacle. There have been many fans who spent hours in the BookMyShow queue to procure a ticket and ended up in complete disappointment.
While it is not too uncommon to find stories like that, breaking through has become easier said than done.
Even though cricket has lost its allure in recent years, watching a World Cup still counts as one of the most immersive experiences for a cricket fan. One can only hope the Ahmedabad turnout is not a sign of things to come in the next 45 days.
