By Qaiser Mohammad Ali, IANS
Kolkata : During every drinks interval at the second India-Pakistan Test here, as many as 37 people, including an unprecedented 16-man ground staff, converge around the Eden Gardens pitch making it perhaps the biggest “crowd” on any cricket ground.
Unlike in other countries, there are extended ground staffs at almost every international venue in India and Pakistan. The job of these men is to quickly apply a fresh coat of paint on the lines on the pitch while players and umpires have refreshments.
And at Eden Gardens, complementing its close to 100,000 capacity, 16 grounds men, 11 fielders, four people who drag the drinks trolley on to the field, three non-playing Pakistani and one Indian player and two umpires make it a grand tally of 37 – perhaps the highest number of people who besiege the pitch at any Test venue in the world.
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Another “team” of ball boys
Besides an extended ‘support staff’, a 19-member team of ball boys has been providing its services to the non-playing Indian and Pakistani players during lunch intervals.
The ball boys, whose other job is to collect the ball when it crosses the boundary, splits according to the demands of the players of the two teams, and they bowl, field or keep imaginary wickets during lunch breaks. On Monday, 17 boys helped Pakistani batsman Salman Butt, Faisal Iqbal and others when they practised during the interval.
These kids can easily be spotted in their blue trousers, while T-shirts and red caps. They hide behind the advertisement panels during play and several of them would jump enthusiastically in their effort to pick the ball once it crosses the boundary.
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Yashpal sad at being ignored
Former Test batsman Yashpal Sharma, here as a television and radio commentator, is a disappointed man. His grouse is that the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) did not invite him and former India Test pacer Vivek Razdan at a dinner hosted in the honour of the Indian and Pakistani teams, match officials and some other former Test cricketers a few days ago.
Sharma told IANS: “Yes, I was not invited. It’s unfortunate. Even Razdan was not invited.”
Other than the teams and officials, the CAB had invited former Test players Laxman Sivaramakrishnan and Arun Lal, who is based in Kolkata. Both are also here as commentators and are sharing the microphone with Yashpal and Razdan.