There has never been a dull moment since Chennai Super Kings came back into the IPL. The grand welcome after a two-year hiatus led to a great opening match in which Dwayne Bravo set the night on fire with a sparkling innings more like a fairytale rather than a bludgeoning cricket innings of the T20 type. The mood in the fans could not have been better but for the threats looming over the much anticipated homecoming of the Super Kings to Chepauk for the Tuesday night game.
Protesters are threatening to demonstrate outside the stadium on Tuesday but the din from the fans inside the stadium might drown everything. This is one match the fans have been bowled over by and tickets are as precious as gold for the gallery seating. Also, while the state has promised all possible security cover for the players and the stadium, the organisers have also let it be known that people are welcome to protest on the Cauvery issue by wearing black clothes, if they wish that is.
The Supreme Court’s soothing words in the hearing on Monday should also help take some heat off the protests. If the Tamil groups threatening to use the match to air their grievances read the news of what the top court has said, they might get the point that Tamil Nadu’s grievance has been upheld and the process for the formation of the Cauvery Management Board has been kickstarted finally with the court calling for a draft scheme to be submitted by May 3.
On the field, there is bound to be a lot of frisson as Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the adapted son of Tamil Nadu, takes on a son of the soil in Dinesh Karthik who will be leading the opposition, Kolkata Knight Riders. This is not the first ironic moment in their careers with regard to Chepauk. Remember Dhoni made his Test debut at the same ground in 2005 in the match against Sri Lanka — those were different days when Sri Lanka could even play in the city.
In the Test match of 13 years ago, Dhoni had replaced Karthik as Team India’s wicket-keeper and he never looked back. It was Karthik who was in possession of the Test gloves and he let the opportunity go and Dhoni seized it. Now he faces off with Dhoni on the latter’s home ground as Karthik was for some reason never in the running for the CSK wicket-keeper’s job. Dhoni was there for eight years until the team itself got suspended for two years.
A host of actors, including Superstar Rajinikanth, has called for the CSK players to wear black badges as a mark of protest over the Cauvery. It would be interesting if such a thing were permitted by IPL rules. Karthik would then also have to consider wearing the badge as he is also a ‘Pachai Tamizhan’. Of course, rules do not permit political statements on the field in cricket, including the IPL.
While wearing black arm bands as a mark of respect to departed cricket players or in memory of those killed in big natural calamities around the world is allowed, no political protest is permitted on the cricket field. A couple of Zimbabweans paid the price for making such protests against their home board and they were promptly suspended from the game.
Cricket fans and Cauvery protesters must just understand that CSK cannot oblige them with black badges. It would be a great gesture if the team finds some other way to make that statement of Cauvery solidarity outside the stadium. If Karthik joins, it would be complete. Meanwhile, battle lines are drawn for the clash of the Titans with gloves on — Dhoni and Karthik.
