Unlike the opening one-day between India and South Africa on Thursday at Dharamshala where less turnout of fans is expected due to coronavirus scare, organisers in Lucknow are sure of a houseful in the second one day international at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium on Sunday.
Around 60 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported so far in the country but the UP Cricket Association and the Ekana Sportz City are claiming to have taken all possible measures to let the fans come to the stadium and enjoy the game.
“So far all is well here as we have been taking all possible measures to avoid the coronavirus scare. Not only virus detectors, but also sanitisers in pouches will be made available to 50,000-odd fans to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19),” UPCA’s secretary Yudhveer Singh said on Wednesday.
“There is no threat of coronavirus to the match. We have been following all instructions issued by the health organisations, including government agencies. Virus detectors are being installed at all important entries, including those meant for players and officials,” he added. “We will also provide sanitisers to all fans at the entry gates.”
On the issue of slow ticket sale for the first-ever ODI in the state capital, Udai Sinha, managing director of the Ekana Sportz City, said that by Tuesday evening, around 40-45 percent tickets were sold out.
“Certainly, there are apprehensions among fans about the coronavirus, but I am very much sure of getting a good crowd at the match as there are still four days to go in the match. Most of the tickets are being sold online.”
He, however, accepted that low turnout of fans would hamper the game financially. “There are many stakeholders in the match, and the low turnout of fans would affect them financially too,” he said.
The stadium, state’s second international cricket venue after the Green park Stadium in Kanpur, has so far hosted a Twenty20 international game between India and West Indies in November 2018, and the Sunday’s match would be the maiden ODI for India at the venue.
The last time Lucknow hosted an international match was in January 1994 when India played a Test match against Sri Lanka at the KD Singh ‘Babu’ Stadium.
