India vs South Africa 2020: Dharamsala Might Witness Poor Crowd Turnout Amid Coronavirus Threat
Published - 11 Mar 2020, 06:07 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:04 AM
With coronavirus raving the world, the upcoming ODI game of the India vs South Africa 2020 series at Dharamsala might witness poor turnout to the venue in the midst of positive Covid-19 increasing day-by-day in the country.
As per the reports, the ODI opener is set to be played amidst the empty stands, with foreigners and the locals in fear of the deadly contagious which has left more than 35,00 dead.
Close to 40 per cent of tickets of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium, some 250 km from the state capital — with a seating capacity of 22,000 — remained unsold till Wednesday, match organisers told IANS.
India vs Australia 2020: Hardly, three corporate boxes are sold –
The officials said that in the wake of coronavirus outbreak, cricket buffs, largely foreigners, are trying to take precautionary measures by restricting themselves on travelling and attending public gatherings.
Leaving the fear of foreigners aside, even the corporate houses in India preferred to give the stadium a miss.
“Hardly two-three corporate boxes have been sold out this time,” said an HPCA functionary.
The stadium, nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, has 12 corporate boxes, each having a seating capacity of 20 seats. Each box costs around Rs 2,00,000 per match and they were much in demand in all the previous matches, both international and T20.
India vs South Africa 2020: Seniors back into the fold –
India, boosted by the returns of Hardik Pandya, Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, will be looking — to put the nightmares of the New Zealand tour behind them as they gear up to face South Africa in the first One-day International (ODI) of the three-match series at Dharamsala on Thursday.
However, the trio might have to wait for their international return as the weather is expected to play spoilsport. According to weather reports, heavy rain is predicted for the match day.
The return of Shikhar and Pandya make India favourites going into the series but the hosts cannot afford to take South Africa lightly.
Captained by Quinton de Kock, South Africa recently completed a series sweep over Australia at home and they will be coming into the tour brimming with confidence.
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