KOZHIKODE: #SaveKochiTurf campaign got a huge boost on Tuesday after cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and star footballer Sunil Chhetri tweeted in support of the social media campaign protesting the return of cricket pitches to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi. Sachin Tendulkar, who co-owns Kerala Blasters FC, tweeted, “Worried about the potential damage to the FIFA approved World Class Football turf in Kochi. (I) urge the KCA to take the right decision where cricket (Thiruvananthapuram ) and Football (Kochi) can happily coexist.”
In a later tweet, the Master Blaster stated “Urged Shri Vinod Rai who has promised to look into the matter. Hoping that neither the cricket nor the football fans are disappointed.” Sunil Chhetri, the Bengaluru FC player, also came forward to support the campaign. “We football fans in India have small joys and reasons to be happy about… A proper football pitch is one of them. Let’s not snatch that away, even if it is for a little while,” he tweeted.
The campaign that was started by Blasters’ fan group ‘Manjappada’ was also endorsed by supporters of other Indian Super League and I-League clubs. The popular feeling echoed around was that the ground was transformed into a proper football venue for the Fifa U-17 World Cup that was held in six Indian cities, including Kochi, last year, and that it should be maintained as such. Other football clubs’ fans have also come out openly supporting ‘Manjappada’ in the campaign. Prominent personalities such as Sasi Tharoor, N.S. Madhavan and players Rino Anto, Ian Hume and C.K. Vineeth had tweeted against the KCA decision to conduct the one-day international against West Indies in Kochi, when the KCA has also an option to conduct the match in Thiruvananthapuram.
