With the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup currently on in England and Wales, Technopark campus too is having a ball, especially with the IT hub having over 100 men’s cricket teams and over 30 women’s cricket teams representing different companies.
The mood is upbeat with many companies already starting their in-house online prediction contests. “My company has three cricket teams and prediction contests have begun on department-wise web platforms. Employees are also active participants of fantasy leagues now, especially with Dream11, the fantasy sports platform, gaining traction among cricket lovers,” says Jayanth Abraham, working with an MNC.
Jayanth Abraham | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
A lot of action unfolds on several cricket-based WhatsApp groups, says Krishnanunni KJ of IBS. “There are over 100 such groups and most of them are fan groups of different players. Besides discussions and analyses, predict-and-win contests are shared among these groups,” adds Krishnanunni. Some companies also hold in-house auctions of players, a la Indian Premier League (IPL) style.
There is no dearth of cricket tournaments on the campus, the biggest being Technopark Cricket League. “With employees hailing from different parts of the country as members of these teams, it is more or less like playing in the Indian team,” says Vivek Gopan of IBS.
Vivek Gopan | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
As for women’s cricket, the first edition of Technopark Women Cricket League was held early this year with 32 teams in the fray. Prathidhwani, a socio-cultural forum on the campus, in association with a private FM station is all set to host gully cricket tournament during the World Cup season.
Talking about the ongoing tournament, majority of them say that the current edition is anybody’s game. “There are no clear favourites for most of us,” says Vivek. He feels that England has a good chance of winning the cup. “Their team is strong and have the advantage of playing at home just like India had in 2011. England, West Indies, India and Australia are my semifinalists, but then I am not confident about it,” says Vivek, a former wicket-keeper of the district cricket team.
Deepa Leelamani | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Deepa Leelamani, former State player and coach, also believes England has an advantage in the tournament with its strong batting and bowling line-up. “Our heart beats for India, but everything is uncertain about our team,” says Deepa.
Unpredictability factor
Krishnanunni doesn’t want to pick any winner. “Cricket is a game of unpredictability, the best example being Pakistan. Although they were crushed by West Indies in their opening match, they shocked England in their next game,” says the all rounder. West Indies, he says, is a dark horse with a squad that looks invincible on paper.
Krishnanunni KJ | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
“England, New Zealand and Australia also have their chances. I want India to be in the semifinal but I am not sure whether they would make it that far. They didn’t get enough time to gel as a team after the IPL and should have played more practice matches in England,” he adds.
Many others are also reluctant to place their bets on India in spite of the team winning its opener against South Africa on Wednesday. “I think Australia, England and New Zealand ought to make it to the semifinals. You can’t write off West Indies as well. The team had a deadly set of bowlers,” says Jayanth.
Meanwhile, Geetha Rao of QuEST, another former State player, thinks that Australia might win the cup this time as well in spite of not having a not-so-impressive track record in recent times.
Geetha Rao | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Among the players, Dhoni and [Virat] Kohli have a huge fan-base, so too New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, English players such as Joss Buttler and Joe Root and West Indies’ Andre Russell.
With the matches being telecast live post-noon, many of them take breaks from their work to catch all the action. “We have television in our cafeteria. If that is not possible, I follow the game on streaming platforms or on podcasts,” adds Jayanth.
So do they have their lucky charms and superstitions when they watch a game? “There have been occasions when I’ve promised to offer a coconut at the temple if the match is poised for a nail-biting finish,” says Geetha.
Jayanth adds that he never watches Indian team’s game with his mother, Celine Abraham, if he is at home. “If we watch it together, India will lose. So while she is glued to the television, I follow the game on the streaming platform. We have been doing that ever since India managed to defeat Bangladesh in the finals of Asia Cup. India was on the brink of defeat and she got so upset that she didn’t watch the rest of the game. Well, we won the match and the cup!” says Jayanth.
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