The wait is finally over. After three whole years, the Indian Premier League (IPL) returns to the ACA-VDCA Stadium. This time, Visakhapatnam will play host to two big fixtures — the eliminator and the second qualifier on May 8 and 10 respectively.
It is a week away and the excitement is palpable.
Munir Arif calls it a huge bonus! “Not just for the fans, but also for the budding cricketers in Andhra Pradesh,” he adds. Munir is a cricketer himself and also represents the Solos Cricket Club. “Many of the youngsters get to bowl to the senior batsmen during the practice sessions. This will be a big exposure for them. It is also an opportunity for them to get cricketing tips from these seasoned players,” he adds. Munir, who will be the liaison officer of one of the IPL teams playing in Visakhapatnam, is putting his weight behind the “promising team” of Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings as winners of this season.
The AVA-VDCA authorities are all geared up to host the matches. “We are expecting a houseful for the two matches and all arrangements are in place,” says Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association secretary K Parthasarathi .
Seshagiri Mantri of Vihar Hospitality, says that IPL matches coming to the city will augur well for the hospitality industry, which is currently going through a “dull phase”. “The matches will bring in good business for the hotel industry, tourism and food and beverages sectors,” adds Seshagiri, who will be the one of the hospitality partners of IPL.
Sunrisers Hyderabad fan Mahesh Baggam is eager to book the tickets. But he knows it will be a challenge. “In my experience, the affordable tickets are sold out in a matter of minutes,” he says. And this stood true when most of the tickets were booked within an hour’s time, once the online ticket sale began on Friday afternoon.
But Mahesh will be watching the matches closely he says, whether from the stadium or otherwise. “These final games will decide every nation’s world cup team,” says the 26-year-old who has not missed an IPL game since 2011. He declares, “In the IPL, national identity takes a back seat and the sporting spirit takes a lead.” Another Sunrisers Hyderabad fan, Roopesh Behri, a final year MBBS student from GITAM University, hopes that his team makes it to the last stages of the tournament. “Visakhapatnam is like a second home for Sunrisers Hyderabad. If they make it to the qualifiers, they will be the favourites to reach the final,” he says. Roopesh hopes to see David Warne (the tournament’s top scorer) in action.
