Was stunned to see hardly 50 people watch the WIvIND Test Series, says Rajeev Shukla

It can be fair to say the deplorable performance of the hosts West Indies in the ongoing Test series has had a rather depressing impact on the crowd turnout for the games. It promised to be a cracker of a series especially considering the No. 1 ranked Test team, India taking on the hosts who beat England 2-1 at home very recently. But sadly, India have been way too good in this series which has resulted in empty stands at Sabina Park, Jamaica.

There has been some fantastic cricket action that has taken place so far in Jamaica. Jasprit Bumrah ripped through the Windies batting with some brutal fast bowling on his way to a Test hat-trick (only the third Indian to do so after Harbhajan Singh in 2001 and Irfan Pathan in 2006). Or even the spirited performance of Jason Holder who picked up a five-fer or how well Kemar Roach has bowled right through the two-match series. Sadly, nothing has convinced the Jamaican public to step out to watch the game at the stadium.

Indian Premier League (IPL) Chairman Rajeev Shukla was left shocked and deeply disappointed by the abysmal crowd turnout for the Tests. He has requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the local governing body West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to take necessary actions to improve this situation. The senior politician and cricket administrator felt that Cricket was dying in the Caribbean.

Rajeev Shukla tweeted on this issue by saying, “I am shocked to see that not even 50 people are watching india-West indies test match while these areas are full of migrated Indians @ICC must do something Looks cricket is dying in Caribbean islands @windiescricket should pull-up the socks @BCCI.”

I am shocked to see that not even 50 people are watching india-West indies test match while these areas are full of migrated Indians @ICC must do something Looks cricket is dying in Caribbean islands @windiescricket should pull-up the socks @BCCI

— Rajeev Shukla (@ShuklaRajiv) September 1, 2019

Keeping the low crowd turnout at the grounds aside, there have been really big achievements to take pride in. Jasprit Bumrah’s hat-trick that left everyone in awe of his talent and ability, Hanuma Vihari’s maiden Test century amplifying the value of patience and determination in the longest form of the game and of-course the rise of Ishant Sharma- the all-rounder.

As a result of such fine performances, India are firmly on top in the ongoing game at Jamaica. Needing an impossible 468 runs to win the game and square the series 1-1, the hosts are currently at 45-2 at the end of day three. They need a further 423 runs to win and more importantly, Virat Kohli’s men need eight wickets to win the series 2-0 and get sixty points on the ICC Test Championship points table. One hopes we would see some fight and resolve from the West Indies even if they do get dismissed on day four