FEATURES
Follow UsA five-hour drive from Bengaluru on NH44, Anantapur is a quaint little town in Andhra Pradesh. It has an old-world feel, a rustic charm of sorts. While the city has become popular thanks to its proximity to Puttaparthi, a spiritual place, it has stayed connected to its roots with a vibrant ecosystem of Telugu-speaking people.
However, with Anantapur, there is a catch. It doesn’t host a lot of big ticketing events. Despite being equidistant from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai, for locals, access to events in big cities is not easy. Secondly, most of Andhra Pradesh’s Ranji Trophy matches take place either in Visakhapatnam, Ongole, or Vijaywada. Since hosting its first Ranji Trophy game in 2004, the Rural Development Trust Stadium had hosted just 16 games before this Duleep Trophy and not even a single one in the last six years.
Hence, Jay Shah might not have earned more fans anywhere else than this cricket-loving city when he mandated almost all players to take part in the Duleep Trophy. While a domestic first-class match wouldn’t have been more than a footnote anywhere else in India, Anantapur embraced it with uncanny vibrancy.
Passes were gone in a flash, and the stadium was packed to the rafters, creating a festive atmosphere throughout the opening day of the second round of the Duleep Trophy. Even though most of the star players had left to join the Indian team for the Bangladesh series, there were no let up from the fans, who had all sorts of musical instruments to cheer for the players.
The best part? The crowd was a combination of all demographics. From kids to uncles to senior citizens to a significant number of females, the stands didn’t have any enthusiasm left to be expressed. It was a throwback to simpler times, when cricket games used to be far and few in between, with domestic matches attracting a lot of fans to the venues.
I remember the 2008-09 NKP Salve Challengers Trophy in Cuttack when a stampede happened outside the stadium, only for the police to send a horde of cricket fans away. Anantapur reminded me of a time when cricket was all that mattered to fans, not the paraphernalia that is now commonplace.
If anything, crowds in Anantapur have given the BCCI a very strong message. Careful progression has yielded decent results in women’s cricket, with almost all games in Bengaluru in the Women’s Premier League houseful. Something similar is the order of the day for domestic cricket.
Sure, domestic cricket in India will always remain a feeder system rather than a spectacle, and all sorts of experiments should be encouraged. However, what about using it as a tool to bring the sport closer to fans where the sport hasn’t made decent inroads? What about running experiments in cities like Ludhiana, Jajpur, Bhagalpur, or Kothagudem?
Even though it hasn’t been acknowledged, the sheer impact that live games can have is profound. Sure, logistics can be a problem, but if plans are made in a systematic manner, domestic cricket can really leave a lasting impression on many fans’ minds—even today.
Anantapur has already demonstrated this. Now, it’s up to the BCCI to make it commonplace and expand the sport beyond its traditional centers.
If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out on our content — big time. Download the App here.
