Hyderabad, February 03: An empty stadium greeted the players on the first day of the five-day Duleep Trophy final at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Tuesday. It was perhaps for the first time in the Indian cricket history that a first class match was played without spectators.
With the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) and the City cops beefing up security for the match, the stadium turned into a fortress. It was the security personnel and not cricket fans who took vantage points inside the stadium. Some cops, however, turned out to be cricket lovers and were seen seeking autographs from the players.
The decision of the HCA, meanwhile, did not go well with a few die-hard fans.
“We thought of watching players like Irfan Pathan, Dinesh Karthik and Yusuf Pathan in action. But unfortunately we were not allowed inside the stadium. I think the authorities were too harsh in punishing the cricket-loving public for the lapse of officials during the Deccan Twenty20 match when the Telangana activists disrupted the Andhra-Hyderabad match,’’ fumed a fan.
The best option would have been to allow spectators for the match. “It would have been a good test for the organisers and the security cops ahead of the IPL matches. But by barring spectators, the HCA has sent a wrong message to public,’’ remarked another fan of the game.
However, HCA secretary N Shivlal Yadav defended the decision saying that they did not want to take a risk. “We were careful this time. We did not want any trouble at any cost,” he said.
–Agencies