'At least give me a roof, a place where there is shade, then I will bring my kid again' - Fans lash out at MCA for uncovered stands

Watching a Test match in India can be an ordeal. Watching it at the MCA stadium in Pune can be even more demanding; almost to the tune of punishment. And there are two profound reasons for it. Firstly, the location of the stadium, which is so far away from the main city that even if the latter is drenched with rain, the stadium had no such problems.

With a dearth of public transport to the ground means unless you have a personal vehicle, it can be tough. And, of course, we are not even getting started about the parking conditions. And, secondly, it does not provide any cover in the stand, exposing people to extreme heat and humidity.

On a day where Virat Kohli plenty of records, grounding the South Africans into the dust, sadly hardly was watching it live from the ground. And, you really can’t blame the people for it. For, who would travel all the way to the outskirts of the city and watch 5-6 hours of cricket in stands which are bereft of any shelter from the sweltering heat and humidity? The 4000 people that did turn up would testify that.

Disappointed fans share their ordeal

“At least give me a roof, a place where there is shade, then I will bring my kid again,” a fan said to Indian Express. A disappointed Bhushan Sahu lashed out at the authorities asking them to at least provide them with a roof to shield him and his sons from the extreme heat and humidity. Sahu, who couldn’t find a place to shelter his family said that he paid a thousand bucks for a north-stand ticket but was exasperated to see there were no covered stands.

What was more baffling that the authorities did not even allow fans to take an umbrella inside the stadium. Another fan, Namdev Patil, who tried to bring one inside the stadium lashed out at the authorities, “A simple umbrella would do the trick or at least make the experience more bearable, but it’s not allowed inside the stadium. There is no roof, I don’t want myself to be roasted in this heat. At least an umbrella should be allowed, na? Going back also now is not easy.”

At a time where cricket boards around the world are trying to make the viewing experience of the crowd better, this wasn’t really a good advertisement. In fact, this was the perfect case study of how to move the fans away from the game.

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