Why is Yuvraj Singh worried about ODI cricket? Pain spilled between India-Sri Lanka match

Thiruvananthapuram: The low attendance in the third and final ODI between India and Sri Lanka has raised serious questions about the relevance of the 50-over format. Former India star Yuvraj Singh has also expressed concern over this. However, as India have already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, the result of the third ODI will not have any bearing on the outcome of the series. But India is to host the ODI World Cup later this year and it was not good to see the absence of such a large number of spectators at the Greenfield International Stadium.

Yuvraj, the hero of India’s 2011 World Cup-winning team, asked on Twitter when Shubman Gill had completed his century with Virat Kohli (166 not out). He said, ‘But what worries me is that half the stadium is empty? Is ODI cricket ending?

While the only ODI before the rain-affected match between India and West Indies in 2018, the stadium was full of spectators but on Sunday it looked empty due to the low turnout of local spectators. Only 20,000 spectators turned up to watch the match on Sunday against its capacity of 38,000 spectators. Krishna Prasad, the media manager of the Kerala Cricket Association, attributed this to a number of reasons, including the lack of public interest in ODIs.

Prasad said, ‘We have never seen a half-empty stadium. Many reasons account for this. Now we do not see much interest in ODIs. He said, ‘The result of the series was also out in Kolkata, due to which India had made an unassailable 2-0 lead. Then the rival team was also Sri Lanka, so most people did not come to the stadium.

The tickets for the match were priced at Rs 1000 and Rs 2000. Prasad said, ‘There was not a single ticket left during the match against the West Indies. It was a rain-affected match and the full 50 overs of the match were not even seen, yet the stadium was full of people. Barring Eden Gardens, very few spectators turned up to watch the matches in this entire series. 55,000 people watched the match in Kolkata. A large number of people reach Guwahati to watch the match, but even there the stadium was not full.

The Barsapara Stadium has a capacity of 38,000 spectators, of which 25,000 were present. The Assam Cricket Association (ACA) attributed this to high ticket prices and the match was played in the middle of the week. The cost of tickets in this ranged from Rs 1500 to Rs 5000.

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