In his column for the TOI, Delhi Daredevils captain Gautam Gambhir has written that he is very happy with the way there is genuine attempt to prioritise fan base by the various franchises in the Indian Premier League.
Gambhir wrote, “I have noticed two most amazing gestures from my rival teams. Both are for fans and you have to be an absolute cynic to point out any commercial angles in them. Before I share those considerate acts let me put the context out. I have often felt that for Indian cricket, the fans are either an afterthought or they are taken for granted,”
“The access to tickets, the pricing, parking lots, accessibility to the stadium, and separate enclosure for ladies, medical facilities, comfortable seats, toilets, drinking water, food, and all these aspects need a lot of attention.”
Gambhir pointed out to the gestures by the Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore done for their respective fan bases. The two sides are immensely popular being led by Indian cricket stalwarts in Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli.
Gambhir has written that “Amid all this, Chennai Super Kings organized a chartered train for its fans to travel to Pune to watch the game against Rajasthan Royals. You must be aware that CSK games had to be shifted out of Chennai to Pune due to protests. Media reports have suggested that all expenses including food, local accommodation and transport, match tickets and the return journey to Chennai will be taken care of by the management,”
On RCB's own such fan loving gesture. Gambhir wrote, “In a slightly different sort of a way, Bangalore did their bit before this year’s IPL started. They retired jersey No. 12 claiming that it belonged to the RCB fans, the real 12th man of the team. Yes, RCB fans would still be looking for their team’s first title, but these are small dots which spread loyalties beyond wins and losses. Therefore, it is no surprise that Chinnaswamy Stadium is roaring at the opposition when they enter the arena. We expect nothing different when we play there on Saturday.”
