Fans queue up to watch ‘rockstar’ Indian team

Adelaide: No one else does this. Not in cricket. No one else makes thousands turn up for a practice session (except perhaps MS Dhoni in Chennai). In India, given the opportunity, people turn up because watching players in a match has a certain disconnect — they are at a fair distance and you might get the odd wave and Virat Kohli trying to egg the crowd on, but other than that, they are an island.
Cricket Australia, however, thought that it might be a nice idea to have an open training session for the fans. It would be a nice way to let the fans have a closer look at the stars; to see them in the flesh. It was for both Australia and India but mainly designed to draw in the Indian audience and get the buzz for the match going. A simple ad was released — ‘Agaya hai mauka — India open training session at Adelaide Oval. Free entry from the South Gate.’
For the Australian session (which was held earlier in the day at 12:30), some 50-odd fans turned up. A few young kids with bats in hand. A few families of the net bowlers. It was a decent turnout. After all, this wasn’t a game, it was just players trying to get ready for one. The Aussie players met the fans, posed for photos — just as all sportspeople should do.
Then, just before India’s session was scheduled to begin, fans started trooping in. It was a trickle at first and it soon became a flood. Gujarati, Punjabi, Hindi and several other Indian languages made it feel very much like an Indian stadium and then suddenly the dhols started beating as well.
Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant kickstarted the session by jumping into the nets, which are just behind the main field, early. The rest of the team walked in a little later and you knew Virat Kohli had entered the field when a huge cheer went up from the stadium. It was followed, predictably, by chants of ‘Kohli, Kohli’.
By now, it seemed like the message was starting to get around Adelaide. Frantic calls were being made to friends, families with young kids (some wearing Kohli jerseys) were turning up. Questions were being asked: when will be training till?
A few Aussies, not of Indian origin, couldn’t quite believe what was happening. All the Indians had really done was warm up by kicking a soccer ball and the crowd was already eating out of their hands. They were laughing with the players, they were cheering for them and they were invested.
“The Indians are the rockstars of world cricket,” said Andy, who had come for the Australia practice but decided to stay on for the Indians too. “No other team would have got this kind of response but just look at this… if cricket could get this kind of response in other countries, the sport would be in a truly great place.”
The crowd was in a mood, it was the mood. The joy was infectious, the excitement unreal and to anybody, who wondered what cricket meant to Indians, a trip to the Adelaide Oval would have helped.
One girl ran out of the field, shouting into her phone that she had got Ravindra Jadeja’s autograph and that they (presumably her friends) should make it to the ground as quickly as possible.
An impromptu dhol and trumpet combo moved to one corner and suddenly started playing a fusion of ‘Tequila’. It was all happening.
So why did they turn up? “Well, it’s India and cricket is our connect with India. We are not in the country anymore but there is an immense sense of pride when India does well; when India becomes the world champions,” said Nawab. “It doesn’t matter who they are facing, we will always support them.”
This session was also unique because very rarely do fans get a chance to be up close and personal with the stars while the net session is on. To truly experience how fast Bumrah bowls or hear the ball pinging off Rohit Sharma’s bat, there really was no better place. It was a visceral experience for many.
Perth saw 96,463 fans turn up for the first Test and it really isn’t even a cricket city. But Cricket Australia is expecting an even bigger turnout at the Adelaide Oval and if the open session was any indication, they won’t be disappointed.