Even with IPL stars, fan count in Maharaja tourney low in B'luru

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: The ongoing Maharaja Trophy T20 tournament at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium witnessed a 'weekend frenzy' as matches on Saturday and Sunday saw much higher attendance compared to the weekdays when it was disappointingly low.

The Maharaja Trophy as the rebranded Karnataka Premier League is called, features six city- based franchises fighting for the T20 title in Karnataka.

IPL stars like Mayank Agarawal, Manish Pandey, Devdutt Padikkal, and state players are taking part in the tournament which is slated to continue till September 1.

“For Sunday’s match, we saw around 2500 fans attend the double-header matches, the highest for this season. On Saturday, around 1000 fans had turned up,” disclosed an event management official. Ticketing officials also admitted a rush for low cost tickets for the stands.

“Both D Corporate and P1 stand had a good rush, the first in this season. I was able to count upto 600 of them in Sunday’s double header matches,” a ticketing official said. However, the turnout for Monday’s matches was a letdown.

“Ticket sales were down to less than half,” the official added. Not all cricket enthusiasts are complaining. Naveen, a cricket buff, says that the 300 rupees he spent for watching the match is worth it.

“I get to see good cricket, with IPL stars, we enjoy coming here,” he said. The participation of more stars will definitely increase the footfalls, felt a student who arrived to watch the tournament a second time.

“I’m here to watch Padikkal, I hope as the tournament progresses, we will see more stars taking part,” the student said. Sources in KSCA admit that the rebranding of the tournament is yet to take off among the masses.

“It’s been three seasons. The Karnataka Premier League was an instant hit. But with more initiatives, we hope the situation will improve,” the source added.