Opposition is mounting over the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA)’s plans to host the India-West Indies ODI in November at Kochi, with the hashtag #SaveKochiTurf gaining plenty on traction on social media platform Twitter.
Kerala Blasters co-owner Sachin Tendulkar (who’s team play at the Kochi stadium) and Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri are the latest and, perhaps, the biggest names to speak against the move.
Former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor was one of the first big names to take up the issue, stating that the association’s move was ‘suspect’.
Tharoor, Thiruvananthapuram MP, said he has already spoken to Committee Of Administrators Chief Vinod Rai against the KCA’s “bizarre” decision to transfer a ODI match from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi, whose ground was last used for the U-17 Football WorldCup.
“He has promised to review the matter. KCA’s motive is highly suspect”, Tharoor had tweeted.
In another tweet, the local MP thanked everyone for the outpouring of support for his firm opposition to KCA’s shifting the ODI to Kochi.
“Turf laid for top-class football would have to be dug up, while a cricket-ready SportsHub stadium in Trivandrum, the best in India, lies idle. Who gains from this suspect decision?’, he asked in the tweet.
Kerala Blasters team member Iain Hume expressed his dismay over the move saying it was upsetting.
“I understand there is lot of cricket in India. But I also understand that there is lot of football in Kerala”.
Another Blasters key player C K Vineeth said the Jawaharlal Stadium in Kochi is one of six in India that are approved by FIFA, a certification that will take immense effort to obtain again.
“When India has been known for being a ‘cricket crazy’ nation, is it really necessary to dig up a football pitch to play a cricket match? #SaveKochiTurf, he tweeted.
The proposed move has got plenty of people talking since last night:
On the other side of the argument - initially - was Javier Ceppi, the man who oversaw the transformation of the Kochi pitch for the Fifa Under-17 World Cup. Ceppi was of the opinion that transforming the pitch should not be a problem, but even he later questioned the timing of the match and said it wasn’t prudent.
Let’s hope sanity prevails.
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