Kolkata: The Pakistan Cricket Board's decision to pull out of the high-octane T20 World Cup clash with arch-rivals India at Colombo on Feb 15 left scores of Kolkata fans disappointed. Many planned to travel as part of a trip, attending multiple matches with fellow fans. A ‘home' World Cup without a Pakistan match will rob the event of its sheen.
With India beginning their campaign against USA on Feb 7 in Mumbai, many from Kolkata will be travelling for the match and planned to hop across to Colombo for the Pakistan match. A group of cricket fans from Kolkata and other cities, The Twelfth Man, planned to travel to Colombo for the match. The group travels around the world, watching India-Pakistan matches.
"Like any other India-Pakistan match, this could have been a thriller. Unfortunately, Pakistan pulled out, though it always urged India to keep politics separate from sport. This is the World Cup and fans across the globe waited for it. Let us hope that good sense prevails and the match is finally held. If it does, we are ready to dash for Colombo," said Mahesh Punjabi, a member of the group and entrepreneur.
Enquiries poured in from fans eager to catch India in action, said Anil Punjabi of AR-ES Travels and a committee member of the Travel Agents' Federation of India. "There is a demand for flight tickets to Mumbai, where India play their first match. Then, there are matches at Ahmedabad, Delhi Chennai and Kolkata. The Colombo match was a great scope to mix some foreign travel. India-Pakistan matches are rare, so they are keenly followed," added Punjabi.
On the website Viagogo, tickets for the India-Pakistan match are still on sale at prices ranging between Rs 5,625 and Rs 24,332. Tickets for the India-USA match are available at lower prices, though very few remain unsold. Manav Soni of the Travel Agents' Association of India, said, "This is the marquee match so fans are disappointed. But there could be a change. There is already a demand for the other India matches and, as the tournament reaches the knockout stage, the interest will increase. The India-Pakistan match would have set the tone for a big event like this."